Would it Ruin Everything?
by afret2010
Summary: Jane finally admits her feelings for Maura during their trip to France. Will Maura return her feelings? What about Jane's job with the FBI? Will they live happily ever after? Hint: I only write Rizzles ;-)
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This story has been kicking around in my head since the series ended. I thought it was finally time to get out of my head so I could concentrate on other things. Like that Sanvers story that has been kicking around in my head since I found out Floriana Lima is leaving the show.

FYI this is mostly dialogue not a lot of descriptive content so if that's not your thing I totally get it.

FYI #2 the story is completely written, have no fear I'll leave you hanging. I was going to post the whole story (4 chapters) at once but I decided to give the rest of the chapters another run through tomorrow. I don't use a beta so I like to do a thorough review before I post.

Finally the obligatory disclaimer: I do not own R&I, I'm not making a profit on this story. I just wrote it for the fun of it. Enjoy!

* * *

"Would if ruin everything if I kissed you right now?"

Jane and Maura were lounging on the king-sized bed in their hotel suite flipping through photos on Maura's tablet of their trip so far. She had just flipped to a picture of the two of them sitting in a little sidewalk café in the south of France. In the picture they were laughing about something and Maura had just put her hand on Jane's forearm the expression on both there faces had been such that a fellow tourist and budding photographer, convinced they were lovers, had snapped the photo and offered it to them as a memento of their romantic trip to France. Neither woman had bothered to correct his misconception.

Maura's body tensed beside Jane's "What?"

 _Shit, shit, shit, shit! Did I just say that out loud!_ Jane cursed herself for her slip. She and Maura had been in France for 3 weeks and had just one week left before they returned to the states. As per Maura's original travel plans they had spent the first three weeks traveling around the country revisiting some of her favorite spots, places she was considering as venues for her book.

They had arrived in Paris just that morning where they were planning to spend the last week of their vacation before returning to Boston. Of course Jane hadn't told Maura yet that they were both returning to Boston. She hadn't worked up the courage yet to broach the subject with Maura. Not that she thought Maura would be upset that she wasn't moving to Virginia. She just knew that Maura would want to know why she had changed her mind and that was a conversation Jane had been rehearsing in her head for the entire trip. She hadn't quite figured out how to say everything she wanted and needed to say without screwing up everything.

Nevertheless, Jane decided to put on her big girl panties and press ahead. After all they only had a week left in France and now was as good a time as any to come clean with Maura.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly she met and held hazel eyes that were clearly shocked but maybe just possibly hopeful as well? "I said, would it ruin everything if I kissed you right now."

Jane could see a myriad of thoughts and responses warring in Maura's eyes. Hard as it was not to back track, to give them both a way out of this conversation she held her tongue and gave her friend all the time she needed to formulate a coherent response.

"I guess it depends."

That was certainly not the response Jane was expecting. "What?" she echoed Maura's earlier question.

"I said, it depends."

"It depends? Depends on what?"

Maura sighed, "Really Jane, you pick now to get into this. Now when we have just a week left on our trip. When you're about to start a new career 477 miles away from Boston! Now when I'm just getting started on my writing career!" Maura was clearly becoming agitated.

"Better late than never?" Jane offered in a halfhearted attempt at humor. When Maura just glared at her she returned to the question at hand. "Depends on what, Maura?"

Maura gave an exasperated sigh, "It depends on a number of things. Like, is this just your way of saying goodbye, a one night stand? If so did you consider the effect it would have on our friendship? Just because you're moving away doesn't mean I'm willing to ruin our relationship for a little roll in the hay. If not, are you planning on us commencing a long distance relationship? If so, do you plan on coming back to Boston often or do you expect me to travel to Quantico? Have you considered how your Catholic mother might react to this, or your brothers, or our friends? Of course if this is just a one night stand maybe you just planned for them never to find out. It could be our dirty little secret! Is that it Jane?"

Maura was really building up a head of steam, pacing and waving her arms about in an excellent imitation of Jane when she was upset. Jane knew she had to cut her off before she stormed out of the hotel room in a rage. "Those are all great questions" she interjected calmly when Maura paused to take a breath. "And I'll answer them all if you just answer two quick questions for me first. Do you love me and do you want me to stay in Boston?"

Maura looked stunned like Jane had just walked up to her and flicked her in the middle of her forehead with her finger for no apparent reason. "Want...Love...do...what?" She stuttered unintelligibly.

"You're adorable when you're flustered." Jane smiled softly at Maura. "Let's take the questions one at a time. Do you love me? Because I have been in love with you for a very long time and I'm pretty sure you feel the same way but like me you've been too scared to lose the best friend you ever had so you never said anything. But now that we're about to lose each other anyway I guess I figured it was time to fish or cut bait."

"Only" was Maura's confusing reply.

"Excuse me?"

"I was afraid to lose the only real friend I ever had and 'fish or cut bait' really Jane?" The goofy grin on her face belied the exasperation in her tone.

"So that's a yes, you do love me?" Matching Maura's goofy grin with one of her own.

Maura smiled softly and reached out to take Jane's right hand in both of hers. "Yes Jane, I love you, I'm in love with you and have been for a very long time."

"So I guess that gives me the answer to my other question. You'd like it if I stayed in Boston instead of moving to Quantico."

"Well you know how I feel about guessing," Maura smirked at her friend, "but in this case that would be a safe assumption."

Jane took her free hand and caressed Maura's cheek, sliding her hand around to the back of Maura's neck to pull her in for their first kiss. It start slowly, even tentatively but soon gained steam, as Maura let go of Jane's right hand and wrapped her arms around Jane's neck and Jane placed her newly freed hand in the middle of Maura's back and pulled her in closer producing the most adorable little squeak that Jane had ever heard.

After what seemed like seconds but also an eternity the two pulled apart just far enough to look into each other's eyes.

"Wow!" Jane breathed in her sexiest, huskiest voice.

"Wow, indeed!" Maura agreed but then her face fell. "Oh no Jane, what about Quantico? You have to report there in a week, you have a contract. Do you think they'll let you break it?"

Jane's expression turn sheepish "Actually I don't."

"What do you mean you don't? You don't have to report there next week? You don't have a contract? What?"

"Yes" Jane replied, unable to curb her flippant response even at a time like this. Maura's flat stare made her think better of it. "I never signed the contract"

Maura looked pole axed "You never signed the contract? I don't understand, up until this moment I've been under the impression you had to report to Quantico as soon as we returned to the states."

"I know Maura, it's kind of a long story and it's just about dinner time. Why don't we order up some room service and I'll tell you all about it over dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

_Maura looked pole axed "You never signed the contract? I don't understand, up until this moment I've been under the impression you had to report to Quantico as soon as we returned to the states."_

" _I know Maura, it's kind of a long story and it's just about dinner time. Why don't we order up some room service and I'll tell you all about it over dinner."_

* * *

Their dinner, along with an expensive bottle of wine, arrived within an hour. They spent most of the hour continuing to look at the pictures of their trip. That is when Jane wasn't masterfully avoiding Maura's questions, primarily by taking her in her arms and kissing soundly her every time she asked one. This may or may not have had the effect of encouraging Maura to ask more questions rather than fewer. Jane was considerably less nervous about telling Maura the whole story now that she knew Maura shared her feelings but she still felt it was a tale best told (and heard) over a glass or two (or three) of wine.

They were sitting at the small dining table in the suite's sitting room and Jane had poured them each a rather large glass of wine when Maura decided she'd waited long enough. "Okay Jane, our dinner is here, the wine is poured, spill it," she said in an apt imitation of the detective at her most impatient.

"Why would I spill the wine?" Jane asked feigning a bewildered look but not hiding her smirk all that well.

"Jane" Maura's menacing tone told Jane she'd pushed the petite honey-blonde as far as she dared-just because Maura loved her didn't mean pay back wouldn't be a bitch.

"Okay, okay here goes." Jane took a deep breath, let it out slowly and jumped right in. "You know I told everyone that I accepted the job at Quantico because I liked teaching and I felt like I needed to take my career in a new direction but that wasn't really the truth" Jane looked sheepish at this admission.

"I mean don't get me wrong. It was kind of cool teaching those future FBI weenies all my interrogation tricks but the truth is it wasn't half as exciting as actually using those tricks to break some lowlife, murdering scum and sending him to jail for the rest of his useless life. And as far as my career is concerned, I love being a homicide detective. I would be perfectly happy spending the next 20 some years doing exactly that."

Maura looked confused, "Then why?" was all she said, Jane understood.

"Because of you, and my Mom," she paused briefly, "and Korsak and Frankie, even Tommy-but mostly you and my Mom."

Maura's expression showed that this explanation had done nothing to clear up her confusion. "I don't understand Jane."

Jane sighed, put down her knife and fork and took long slip of wine, clearly gathering her thoughts. "Do you remember how my Mom reacted when that nut bar Alice Sands was after me? Specifically, what she said after Alice shot up Korsak & Kiki's wedding?"

"I remember she was upset, we all were."

"Upset is an understatement. She basically went off on me because of my job. I know it's not like this was the first time she'd done that but this time it was different. It was like she thought I was being selfish putting everyone I loved in danger and making her worry constantly because I chose to be a cop instead of just about anything else." Jane clearly was upset just remembering the argument.

"Jane…" Maura began trying to think of something to say to make Jane feel better but nothing came.

"Then too everybody seemed to be moving forward with their lives and I was right where I'd always been and, like I said, I love my job but I started wonder if there was something wrong with me that I was happy to stay in the same place doing the same thing."

"What do you mean everybody seemed to be moving forward with their lives." Maura was confused again.

"I mean Korsak married Kiki and was getting ready to retire, Frankie was permanently assigned to homicide and engaged to Nina, even Tommy was moving on from his relationship with Lydia and moving back to Boston to become a plumber. And you…" Jane's voice trailed off and for just a moment a bleakness showed in her eyes at the memory.

"And I?" Maura prompted.

"You were about to embark on this new writing career and I know it sounds foolish and selfish but…it wasn't something I could really share with you and it felt, I don't know, like a first step away from me." Jane shrugged and smiled weakly at Maura. "Once I started down that rabbit hole in my imagination I had you meeting a fellow author, falling in love, and moving to Maine to write novels and raise babies. I couldn't watch you fall in love with and marry someone else. You have no idea how hard it was watching you date all those men you dated in the past, especially Jack. I really thought I'd lost my chance when Jack came on the scene. It was so hard." The bleakness was back in Jane's expression.

"I think I have an idea how hard it was" Maura's voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper and tears shone in her eyes "After all you actually accepted a ring from Casey."

"Oh Maura, I'm sorry!" Jane jumped up and moved around the table to put her arms around Maura. "What a stupid thing to say." Taking Maura's face in her hands she kissed her gently then sat back on her heels taking Maura's hands in hers. "I can't believe we both wasted so much time dating other people when we could have been together."

"At least that's done now. It is done now, right, your staying in Boston and we can pursue this relationship?" Maura clearly needed reassurance.

Jane was happy to give it, "Yes, on both counts."

Maura let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Smiling she said, "You know still haven't explained what happened with the FBI job." It was a question as much as a statement.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Hey everyone, here's Chapter 3, just one more to go after this. Thanks to everyone for the Reviews, Favorites and Follows. They make my day. Special thanks to IsaBabisa for some sharp-eyed grammar corrections on the first 2 chapters. Constructive criticism is always welcome!

Oh yeah, I still don't own Rizzoli & Isles, I just enjoy playing with other people's toys!

* * *

" _At least that's done now. It is done now, right, your staying in Boston and we can pursue this relationship?" Maura clearly needed reassurance._

 _Jane was happy to give it, "Yes, on both counts."_

 _Maura let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Smiling she said, "You know still haven't explained what happened with the FBI job." It was a question as much as a statement._

* * *

Jane jumped right into her story. "Right. Well I'd made up my mind to take the job. I was preparing for my move, you know, going through all the steps to leave the BPD and join the FBI as an instructor at Quantico.

But with every step I took toward that move I became more convinced that it was a mistake. I mean I'd think about leaving everything I loved, Boston, BPD, my family and it just made me so sad. Then I'd think about leaving you and I couldn't breath, literally I'd have trouble catching my breath. I couldn't imagine living somewhere that I couldn't hop in my car and see you in 10 minutes." Tears started forming in Jane's eyes.

"The problem was, everything was moving forward and I didn't know how to stop it. I'd given my notice at BPD and verbally accepted the job with the FBI and I didn't see anyway out." The tears had started to roll down Jane's cheeks. She wiped them away, took a deep breath and gave herself a little shake, throwing off the sadness of this part of her story.

She flashed Maura a watery smile and continued. "Then I had my exit interview with Lieutenant Cavanaugh. Did you know that HR requires everyone who quits the force to meet with their immediate supervisor to discuss their reason for leaving and anything they think the BPD could do better as far as taking care of their people, really touchy feely crap?" Maura raised an eyebrow at that but held her tongue.

"I thought it was a huge waste of time but it turned out to be the best interview of my life. I don't even remember exactly what I said but it was along the lines that I loved working at BPD, I loved the people I worked with, and they shouldn't change anything and I meant every word of it.

I remember Cavanaugh looked really surprised. I guess he thought I was leaving because I wasn't happy there. I don't know but I remember he sat back in his seat and just looked at me for like a minute without saying anything. I was getting really uncomfortable. Then he said, 'you know I wasn't going to mention this, but before you announced that you were leaving to be an instructor at Quantico I was going to offer you the sergeant's slot in homicide. As you know, you did very well on the sergeant's exam, with your experience and case closure rate you were far and away the best choice for the job.'

I almost fell out of my chair I was so stunned. The truth is with everything else going on I'd almost forgotten about taking the sergeant's test. Plus I knew there were some folks already wearing the rank who were angling for the homicide spot. I didn't really think I had a chance."

Maura was beaming with pride in her best friend's accomplishment and she was thrilled to know she'd still be working with her, "Jane that's great. Did you accept on the spot?"

"I wanted to, I can tell you that but I felt like I had to at least talk to my Mom after getting her hopes up about no longer being out in the field. I mean, being the sergeant means less time in the field but I'd still be out there.

I told Cavanaugh that I really wanted to say yes but I explained about Ma and my real reasons for taking the Quantico job. Get this, he said he might have a way to make it easier for my mother to accept my staying in homicide. Apparently, he's planning on retiring in a few years and he was hoping to groom me to take his place as the homicide lieutenant! The lieutenant's position is primarily a desk job, which isn't my favorite thing but at least I'd still be in Boston doing what I love and Ma wouldn't have to worry so much. He'd already cleared it with the brass and was talking to HR about how to accomplish it, what all I'd have to do to qualify for the job, when I announced I was quitting."

Now Maura looked puzzled, "But when you put in letter of resignation didn't they give the job to someone else?"

"Apparently not, Cavanaugh said he just had a feeling he should give it a little more time. Not that he necessarily thought my circumstances would change. I guess it was more that he hadn't really considered anyone else for the job and he didn't want to rush the decision. Anyway he offered it to me and after I talked to Ma I accepted and the rest is history as they say." Jane finished with a big smile and a long sip of her wine.

"Wait a minute," Maura protested, "don't just gloss over the part where you talked to your mother. As you said before, she's never been happy about the dangers associated with you being a police officer and with this arrangement you'll still be out in the field for a few more years."

"Oh, that's the best part." Jane said with a huge grin on her face, taking a deep breath and preparing to launch into the conclusion of her story.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Hello all, here it is the final chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I'm marking it complete but you never know when an idea might strike for a continuation or a sequel. If anyone has a good idea feel free to drop me a line. I make no promises other than that if I use your idea I promise to give you credit for it.

Thanks again for the reviews, follows & favorites. I get a thrill every time I hear that ding that means I've got a new e-mail!

I own nothing related to R&I (makes me sad but that's just how it is ;-)

* * *

" _Wait a minute," Maura protested, "don't just gloss over the part where you talked to your mother. As you said before, she's never been happy about the dangers associated with you being a police officer."_

" _Oh, that's the best part." Jane said with a huge grin on her face, taking a deep breath and preparing to launch into the conclusion of her story._

* * *

"So, I drive straight over to Ma's place, not wanting to give myself time to change my mind or even think about it too much. I'm psyching myself up the whole way, 'you can do this Jane, she's your mother not some coked up perp, just tell her how you feel, including how you feel about Maura'. I knew this was it. I had to lay all my cards on the table.

So I get to her place and it takes me like three tries to get up the courage to knock on her door. And when she opens the door she can tell something is up.

'Janie are you okay did something happen to Frankie, or Maura? What's wrong baby' and she's starting to get upset.

So I tell her 'no, Ma everyone is okay, nothing bad has happened, in fact something good has happened. At least I think it's something good and I hope you'll feel the same way. I really need you to feel the same way Ma.' At this point I'm rambling and becoming agitated myself and Ma takes me over to the couch and we sit down.

She's getting exasperated with me and says, 'Just spit it out Jane.' So I do, I just blurt it out.

'Cavanaugh offered me the Sergeant's position in homicide and I'm going to take it I'm not going to Quantico.'

And I'm sitting there cringing waiting for the yelling to start and Ma's just sitting there looking like I hit her over the head with a bat. I'm thinking this is not good. I can't remember that last time Ma was so made she was speechless, yelling and screaming definitely but speechless cannot be a good thing.

And then she says 'Oh thank God, I never would have forgiven myself if you had gone through with the Quantico job it was all wrong for you Janie. I know you just took it because of what I said about having to worry about you all the time and everyone you love being in danger. I'm so sorry Jane, I was upset and I lashed out at you but it wasn't fair. You're a great detective it's what you were born to do. As your mother I should support that not make you feel miserable about it.'

Now I'm the one sitting there looking like I've been hit in the head with a bat and I'm trying to figure out if I should hug her for saying all of that or shout at her for not saying something sooner and letting me stew all this time, which by the way I'm starting to think was payback for all the years of worry I have put her through in the past and will put her through in the future! But she wasn't done stunning me yet because next she says.

'Does this mean you're finally going to pull your head out of you hind end and tell Maura how you feel about her. It really is about time _one_ of you two does it.'"

Now it's Maura's turn to look like someone hit her in the head with a bat. She blinks a couple of times and opens and closes her mouth a couple of times before she's able to come up with a somewhat less than eloquent response. "What?"

"Yup" Jane replies with a grin. "That was pretty much how I responded. Then I told her about my plans to crash your trip and tell you I'm in love with you before we got back and she thought that was a great idea. She went on for quite some time about how romantic a trip to France is and she wanted to know I planned to tell you. She suggested I take you out for a romantic dinner and a walk along the Champs-Elysées. Mind you my mother wouldn't know the Champs-Elysées from Storrow Drive except for what she's seen in movies"

Maura couldn't suppress a giggle. "Oh the poor thing! She's going to be so disappointed when she finds out how it actually happened."

Jane actually blushed and looked chagrined. "Yeah, sorry about that. I admit I hadn't really planned it out but I was hoping for something a little more romantic than sitting in our hotel room looking at pictures from our trip."

"Don't apologize Jane. It may not have been the most romantic declaration of love but at least it was original. It will be a great story to tell our kids some day…" She trailed off looking slightly panicked. "I'm sorry, I know it's way to soon to be talking about kids or even marriage for that matter it's just …"

She hesitated for a moment and Jane, who had been smiling fondly at her nervous chatter said, "It's just what?"

Maura took a deep breath, realizing it was time for her own confession. "It's just when I dream about my future I always see myself married to you and us having a family. But like I said it's too early I know that. We have …"

Jane stopped her rambling with a quick kiss. "Maura, it's okay, truth be told that's exactly how I've always pictured my future when I've dared to admit to myself what I really want; you, me and a couple of badass, genius babies who can plié as well as they can hit a ball with a bat. Of course if you ever tell anyone I said that I will deny it. I have to maintain my badass reputation."

"Of course, Jane I wouldn't dream of besmirching your well earned reputation as a badass." Maura grinned at her detective. _My detective_ she thought and felt a flutter in her stomach, _finally._

"All of the sudden I can't wait to get home." Maura said, picturing their future and anxious for it to begin.

"Oh no" Jane countered with a grin. "If you think I'm passing up a week with the woman I love in the most romantic city on the planet to go home and face hurricane Angela planning our wedding and naming our as yet unborn children. You've got another think coming!"

Maura snorted adorably. "Perhaps your right," she said grinning. "Besides after you fumbled the romantic confession of your feelings we have to have some romantic stories to tell your mother." She was trying to get a rise out of Jane and she did, just not exactly like she'd planned.

"Forget it!" Jane replied emphatically. "What I plan on doing with you this week I don't plan on reporting to my mother." And with that she rose pulled Maura from her chair and lead her over to the bed.

The End?


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I hadn't really planned to add another chapter to this story but then I began to wonder what would happen when they got home. How would people react to their relationship and to the fact that Jane was going to be the new sergeant in the Homicide Division. So I started writing this and it really kicked my butt. I couldn't seem to get the ideas in my head to come out the way I wanted on the page. But I persevered and this is the result. I hope you like it.

As always, I don't own Rizzoli and Isles. I just wish I did ;-)

* * *

 _Maura snorted adorably. "Perhaps your right," she said grinning. "Besides after you fumbled the romantic confession of your feelings we have to have some romantic stories to tell your mother." She was trying to get a rise out of Jane and she did, just not exactly like she'd planned._

" _Forget it!" Jane replied emphatically. "What I plan on doing with you this week I don't plan on reporting to my mother." And with that she rose pulled Maura from her chair and lead her over to the bed._

* * *

Maura reached over and placed her hand on Jane's knee, which was bouncing up and down incessantly.

Jane took her eyes off the clouds passing by outside the plane's window and glanced down at the hand on her knee then up into understanding hazel eyes. "Everything is going to be fine. Please try to relax."

Jane sighed, "I know I just…" she trailed off.

"You just what?"

"I know I made Ma promise not to tell anybody about us or that I'm staying in Boston but I almost wish I hadn't. I'm not looking forward to telling everyone."

"Do you think they'll be upset about us being together? None of our friends and family strike me as the kind who would be against same-sex relationships."

"I know you're right. I mean if anyone was going to be upset for that reason it would have been Ma and she was ecstatic about us getting together but you just never know for sure how someone will react. I can just imagine how Crowe and his cronies at BPD will react, especially since I'm taking the Sergeant's slot in homicide. I'm sure that delusional bigot thought he was a shoo in for the job.

"I don't think Frankie and Tommy will be upset I'm dating a woman but they both had crushes on you at one point or another and I discouraged you from dating either one of them so I suppose they might be angry that I wasn't honest about my real reasons for that."

Maura smirked at Jane and asked with feigned shock, "Are you telling me that the real reason you discouraged me from dating your brothers was because you were jealous?"

Jane cringed a bit and smiled sheepishly at Maura. "Yes, maybe, a little bit. Okay a lot! It was bad enough watching you date all those guys I didn't know. I think it might have killed me if you fell in love with one of my brothers and married one of them. Of course, in Tommy's case I really was trying to protect you. He was still a big screw up back then. Fatherhood has really brought out the best in him."

Maura smiled at Jane and squeezed her knee. "Just so you know, you never had anything to worry about with either of your brothers. I may have briefly considered dating them but in my heart I knew they'd just be a poor substitute for the Rizzoli I really wanted to be dating."

Maura looked confused "If you aren't worried about how everyone will react to our relationship then what are you worried about?"

"Just because folks aren't upset because I'm dating a woman doesn't mean they won't question our relationship. We've been denying our feelings for one another for years now and all of the sudden after a month in France we're practically engaged and we're moving in together?"

"What if they think I'm after your money or that this is some excuse to get out of the FBI job because I don't think I can hack it with the feds?"

Maura snorted, "Jane that's…" she was about to say ridiculous but Jane cut her off.

"And what if Crowe isn't the only one who's pissed off about me being the new Homicide sergeant? There are a lot of detectives in the department who are looking to be promoted to sergeant and Homicide is a prime slot for furthering your career. Those detectives are not going to be happy that I'm coming back and taking that slot."

"So what," Maura said. "All those people will be upset if anyone other than they themselves get the position. The fact is you're eligible for the job since you never actually put in your resignation paperwork and you are the most qualified for the position. Lieutenant Cavanaugh certainly thinks so. Everyone else, if they're being honest with themselves, will agree and if not they'll get over it."

"I hope you're right." Jane didn't look convinced. She glanced out the window with a frown on her face clearly thinking dark thoughts about everything that could go wrong.

Maura reached out and gently took Jane's chin in her hand and turned her back to face her. Kissing her lightly on the lips she said, "Jane the bottom line is you are the best detective for the job. That's why Lieutenant Cavanaugh offered it to you even after you told him you were accepting the FBI job. That's why he intends to groom you to take his place as the Homicide lieutenant when he retires."

Jane smiled at Maura as much for the kiss as for her words of encouragement. Maybe she was right. Teaching that class at Quantico had showed her one thing. She had a lot to teach up and coming investigators. She just preferred the more hands on approach of being BPD's Homicide sergeant over being in a classroom in Quantico.

* * *

The plane touched down at Logan on time and they made it through customs without any problems. As they walked into the greeting area for international travelers it didn't take them long to find Angela. She had spotted them as soon as the walked through the door and was waving her arms enthusiastically and shouting their names.

"Jane, Maura over here! Jane!"

"Hi Ma…" was all Jane manage to get out before she was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug, which was thankfully short lived as Angela hurried to give Maura the same treatment.

"How are my girls? How was your flight? Tell me all about your trip. Did you do anything romantic during your last week? Do you have lots of pictures? I can't wait to see them!"

She grabbed both their arms and started leading them out of the airport and over to the parking garage. "I got a good parking spot we'll be on our way in no time."

"So come on! Tell me everything about your trip."

"We'd love to Ma, as soon as we can get a word in edgewise!" Jane said in mock exasperation. In truth she'd missed her mother and her busybody ways. Not that she'd ever admit that to another living soul...ever.

"Oh you," Angela huffed giving Jane a little cuff on the arm.

"The trip was lovely Angela," Maura smiled at the older woman's antics. In all her travels she couldn't recall anyone ever being this excited about her returning home with the possible exception of Jane, who nevertheless would have been much more reserved in her actions. "We can't wait to tell you all about it and to show you all the pictures we took."

"Wonderful, maybe you can go back there for your honeymoon!" she gushed.

"Under 5 minutes I win." Jane grinned at Maura.

"Win? Win what? What are you talking about? Maura, what is she talking about?"

Maura just shook her head smiling ruefully. "Nothing Angela, Jane's just being her usual charming self."

Jane however was more than happy to fill her mother in, "I bet Maura that you would manage to work marriage into the conversation before we left the airport."

"Well, after all the time you two wasted you'd think you'd want to move things along," Angela replied giving her daughter a pointed look.

The drive home to Beacon Hill was uneventful. Jane and Maura had arrived back in Boston early enough to miss rush hour traffic and the drive was filled with Angela's questions about their trip and Maura's in depth responses. At first Jane had been concerned that Angela would have a surprise Welcome Home party waiting for them but after giving her the third degree she was convinced that was not the case.

Apparently Angela had decided it would be fun for Jane to surprise everyone at work when it was announced that she would be the new homicide sergeant. Jane wasn't sure about the idea but since Angela had already talked to Lieutenant Cavanaugh about it and he had agreed with her she didn't argue the point. One good thing about the plan was that it gave Jane and Maura the weekend to settle in before everyone found out they were a couple and would be living together.

* * *

The following Monday, Jane's nervousness returned. She was up and ready to go an hour before they had to leave for work, which was already an hour earlier than usual so that Jane could get into the office before shift change. The plan was for her to wait in Lieutenant Cavanaugh's office while he called everyone in the homicide division together and announced the selection of the new sergeant. But when the time came to leave Maura had to practically drag Jane out of the house.

"Jane, what is going on with you? I know you want this job and I know that you know you're the most qualified for the job. Why are you so nervous?"

"Just because I'm happy about getting to be the Homicide sergeant doesn't mean everyone will feel the same." Jane replied tersely.

"I thought we'd covered this already. You are the most qualified for the job. Besides when have you ever let what anyone else thinks stop you from doing anything?" Maura asked, baffled by Jane's attitude. "Besides, I think the only people likely to be truly upset by your promotion will be Crowe and his friends and I know you don't care what he thinks!"

"That's true," Jane said her dour expression temporarily replaced by a smug smirk. "In fact, I can't wait to see his face when he hears the news. Maybe you could record it on your phone so I can post it to Facebook later."

"As fun as that sounds," Maura replied dryly, "perhaps it's not the tone you want to set on your first day as sergeant."

"Spoil sport," Jane pouted for a moment but that look was quickly replaced by the return of her nervous expression. "I'm worried about Frankie," she admitted. "He was finally going to get the chance to come out from my shadow and now I'm going to be his sergeant! What if he's mad about that? I wouldn't even blame him."

"Jane, Frankie loves..." Maura began.

"What if the other cops cry nepotism whenever he gets kudos for doing a good job or is given a good assignment. You know how nasty cops can be."

"Frankie is a big boy. He can handle whatever the other detectives throw at him. I doubt it will be any worse than what you had to deal with as the youngest detective on the force and the first female Homicide detective."

Jane nodded, following Maura out to the car but her expression showed she was less than convinced.

The drive to BPD was quiet. Maura tried several times to start a conversation to take Jane's mind off her worries but she was met with one-word replies. Finally she gave up and drove in silence. When they arrived at BPD, she parked in her designated spot in the garage and ran interference for Jane so she could get up to Cavanaugh's office unseen.

"You ready for this Rizzoli?" Lieutenant Cavanaugh asked. Jane stopped rubbing the scars on her palms and looked up at him.

"Sure thing!" She answered with a confidence she didn't really feel.

Cavanaugh chuckled seeing through her charade. "You are ready for this Jane. You've been ready for a while now. The truth is the only reason Korsak got the position when he did was because he had more time on the force. In every other regard you were equally qualified maybe even a little more so."

"I know," Jane replied, not bragging but simply acknowledging the facts.

"Then why are you so nervous?"

"I just don't like being the center of attention, especially since we know not everyone is going to be happy about my promotion."

"I get it Jane but the fact is that this kind of hoopla isn't just about you. It's good for the troops to be reminded every once in a while about the rewards of skill and hard work. You don't really think I'd have let your mother talk me into this whole surprise announcement thing otherwise do you?"

"Have you met my mother? I think she'd have kept after you until you said yes just to get her off your back!"

Cavanaugh chuckled, "good point." He glanced out his office window. "Looks like Korsak finally made it. He was a lot more punctual before he retired. I'd best get this show on the road before folks start getting suspicious about why he, Dr. Isles, and your mother are hanging out in the bullpen."

He got up from behind his desk, put on his suit jacket, straightened his tie and headed for the door. "You know the drill. Come out when I say your name. And relax, everything is going to be just fine."

With that he walked out into the bullpen. "Everyone, can I have your attention? I have an announcement to make."

There was some murmuring as folks guessed what that announcement might be. Crowe stood up straighter and puffed out his chest as one of his buddies clapped him on the back.

Frankie, who had been sitting at his desk talking to his mother and Korsak asked, "is he announcing your replacement Vince? Is that why you stopped by? Please tell me it isn't Crowe. That would be a disaster," he exclaimed, knowing that if Crowe were the new sergeant he would pay for being a Jane Rizzoli's brother.

"Shh," Korsak put his finger to his lips. "I think you're going to like this." He glanced at Angela and gave her a surreptitious wink. Lieutenant Cavanaugh had consulted him about his replacement back when it still looked like Jane was going to Quantico. Cavanaugh had bemoaned the loss of the best candidate for the job and Korsak had recommended he talk to Jane. He'd had a hunch she really didn't want to leave Boston or BPD. Cavanaugh had called him the same day he talked to Jane to thank him and had asked him to keep it to himself until he had a chance to make the announcement. Vince had agreed as long as he got to be there for the official announcement.

Cavanaugh waited for the murmurs to cease then began. "It's been over a month since Vince retired and I know you all have been anxious to find out who his replacement will be. We had a number of excellent candidates apply for the job from all over BPD. We even had a few applicants from other police departments." He took his time, drawing out the suspense. Listening from inside his office, Jane got the distinct impression that he was enjoying himself immensely.

"However, after careful consideration of all the candidates. I decided to promote from within the homicide division."

Crowe hissed out a muted "Yes!" While his buddies clapped him on the back. Around the room a number of folks, Frankie in particular, let out a groan. A glare from Lieutenant Cavanaugh silenced them all.

"It is with great pleasure I introduce to you the new Boston PD Homicide Division sergeant. Sergeant Detective Jane Rizzoli."

Jane came out from the Lieutenant's office as Crowe, who had already started making his way over to where Cavanaugh was standing, stopped dead in his tracks and said dully "What?"

Everyone else was silent for a stunned moment before breaking out into enthusiastic applause. A number of folks shouted out their "Congratulations Sergeant Rizolli!" or "Way to go, Jane!"

Cavanaugh motioned for everyone to settle down and pulled a brand new badge out of his jacket pocket. It said "Sergeant" across the top and "Rizzoli" across the bottom. "Jane, your record speaks for itself. Your case closure rate is second to none as is the conviction rate on your cases. You've earned this badge and I for one am very happy you decided to stay with BPD rather than going over to the dark side. I mean becoming a fed!"

There was a good bit of laughter at that, then Vince shouted, "Speech," and others took up the cry. Jane glared at him but he just grinned at her.

"You all know I'm not much of a public speaker. But I want to thank the Lieutenant for giving me this opportunity. I don't think I realized how much I wanted it until you offered me the job. Vince, I want to thank you for taking a wet behind the ears junior detective and teaching her the ropes. I've got some big shoes to fill as the new sergeant and if I have any success at all it will be because of what you taught me. I also want to thank my family. Ma fighting with you taught me to stick to my guns in the face of determined opposition."

The crowd laughed and Angela said, "Oh you!" while dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"I also want to thank the whole team here in BPD Homicide. No murders gets solved by one person. It's a team effort from the detectives to the folks working the computers." At this she smiled over at Nina who nodded and grinned back at her. "To our outstanding forensic team in the Medical Examiner's Office." She glanced over at Maura who was beaming at her. You all helped me get here, and again, I thank you. Now let's all get back to work, there are murders to solve. Oh I almost forgot, there's going to be a promotion party at the Robber after the shift is over. There'll be free food and drinks so I hope to see you all there."

With that most folks came over to shake her hand and congratulate her or wish her luck. Crowe and his buddies gathered around his desk muttering and glaring at her. She knew he'd cause trouble in the near future but she decided to worry about that later.

When Nina made came up she was wearing a huge smile. "I'm so glad you decided to stay here in Boston Jane. You're going to be a great sergeant!"

"Thanks Nina, that means a lot to me. Hey where's Frankie? I was hoping to talk to him."

"Unfortunately he got called out on a case about the time you were finishing up your speech. He really wanted to talk to you."

Jane couldn't help but wonder if that was a good thing or a bad thing but all she said was. "No worries, believe me I get it. If possible would you two try to get to the Robber a little early? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Okay, that shouldn't be a problem," Nina responded. She was curious what else Jane might need to say to them but other people were demanding the new sergeant's attention so she let it go.

* * *

It was a relatively quiet day for the Homicide Division, for which Jane was grateful. Not only did it give her time to settle in to her new responsibilities it allowed her to cut out a little early (with Lieutenant Cavanaugh's permission) to prepare for her promotion party at the Robber.

She stopped down at the morgue on her way out. Maura wasn't in her office so she checked the morgue, where she found Maura bent over a microscope. "Hey Maura, I'm on my way over to the Robber to help set up for the party. Will you be able to make it over a little early so we can break our news to the family?"

"Actually, if you can wait a minute while I secure this evidence I can come with you now," Maura replied with a smile at her detective. _I guess she's my sergeant now_ she thought smiling to herself. She quickly logged the slides she'd been studying back into the evidence locker and went into her office to grab her things.

On the way out she let Kent know she was leaving. "Kent, I'm heading over to the Robber to help Jane set up for her promotion party. Will we see you there later?"

"Wouldn't miss it! And congratulations Jane, or should I say Sergeant Detective. I didn't get a chance to say it earlier. I think they made an excellent choice."

"Thanks Kent, and Jane is fine."

"There is something not quite right about that man," she said just loud enough for Maura to hear as they left the morgue.

* * *

It took less than an hour to get the food set up at the Robber. Angela had wanted to go all out with decorations but Jane had managed to talk her down to a single banner that said "Congratulations Sergeant Detective Rizzoli".

Unfortunately, that gave Jane almost 30 minutes to worry about how their friends and family would take the news of her relationship with Maura. And she still hadn't had a chance to talk to Frankie about his reaction to her promotion. He had been out following up leads on one of his cases all day. When she had texted him to see if he'd be able to show up early to the party he had promised to be there.

The fourth time she rearranged the platters on the buffet table Maura came up to her with a beer and a glass of wine and said, "Come on let's sit for a bit. Everything's going to be fine, you know."

Sighing, Jane took the beer from her and followed her to their favorite booth. "I know I just wish it was done. I hate waiting, I always have. When I was in school and we had to do oral presentations, I always volunteered to go first just to get it over with. Everyone else thought I was crazy, they all wanted to put it off as long as possible."

"Jane, I ..." Maura began but she was interrupted by the arrival of Tommy and TJ. They went over to say hi and show them to the private room in the back where they planned to make their announcement uninterrupted by early arrivals to the party. By the time they had Tommy and TJ settled, Kiki had arrived followed closely by Nina, then Ron, and a few minutes later by Frankie who hurried in.

"Sorry, I know I'm late. I've been running all over Boston today running down leads on the Conrad case."

When everyone had gathered in the back room Korsak looked at Jane expectantly. "Okay, you called us all here early. What's the big news I mean aside from your taking my old job at BPD, since we all know that already?"

All eyes turned to Jane as she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "First I want to thank all of you for coming early. I know you all had to cut out of work early to be here now but I've got some big news and I really wanted to tell you all at once. I want you all to know that I'm really happy about this and I hope you will be too." She paused to take another deep breath and let it out slowly, clearly nervous about what she was about to say next.

"Just spill it already Janie," Tommy interjected, "enough with the dramatic buildup."

"Thanks little brother I can always count on you for your compassion and understanding," Jane said sarcastically but she really did appreciate his comment. Somehow it took the edge of her nervousness, reminding her that everyone in this room was family either by blood or by choice. In the end she knew they would be happy for her if she was happy.

"Fine, no more beating around the bush. Maura and I are together now," as she said this she reach out her hand to Maura who took it interlacing their fingers and resting her other hand on Jane's forearm. "As in we're in a romantic relationship. I've moved into her house and we're going to be living together."

There was a moment when everyone just looked at her as if they were expecting her to go on. When she didn't everyone started congratulating them and saying how happy they were for the couple but Jane looked around at them all then over at her mother suspiciously. "None of you seemed surprised. Did Ma spill the beans even though she swears she didn't."

It was Kiki who responded, "Angela didn't say anything, at least not to me."

"And yet none of you are surprised by this news are you?"

There was a moment of silence when they all looked at each other as if trying to decide which one of them would explain it to Jane. Finally, Frankie stepped up. "Really Jane, I think we all kind of figured it out when we found out you were back in Boston for good. I mean you two take a month long vacation together in France and when you come back you've changed your mind about going to Quantico? It seemed pretty obvious to me. Truth be told, when I heard you were going to France with Maura I was pretty sure you two would come back together, as in together in a relationship. It's been a long time coming."

There was much head nodding and murmurs of agreement amongst those assembled in the back room.

"Really?" Jane was shocked by his admission.

"Seriously Jane, have you seen the two of you together?" It was Korsak who responded this time. "The only surprise is how long it took the two of you to figure it out."

This was met by laughter all around. Then Tommy piped up with, "Yeah and don't think I didn't know the real reason you didn't want me to date Maura!"

"Ditto!" Frankie interjected.

Jane blushed at these comments and even Maura laughed this time.

Jane smiled ruefully, "I take it that means you all are okay with this." Her tone suggested she was still concerned that some of their friends and family might be less than thrilled be this turn of events. The enthusiastic response from all present put her worries to rest.

"Great, in that case, we've got two things to celebrate. Let's go join the party!"

Everyone started heading back out to the main room where folks had started arriving for Jane's promotion party. She snagged Frankie's arm as he walked past. "Hold up little brother." Looking to Nina and Maura she said, "we'll be out in a minute would you guys go get the party started? Tell folks not to wait on us."

Once they left Jane turned to Frankie who was looking at her expectantly. She started rubbing her scars, a sure sign she was nervous.

"What's the matter? Why do you look like your're about to tell me someone stole my Ted Williams Rookie card?" Frankie asked. .

"I just wanted to talk to you about me returning to BPD and being the new sergeant in Homicide." She looked at him warily, trying to determine his feelings on her new position but he misinterpreted the look. Her expression was making him nervous.

"What about it? Are you kicking me out of the Division? That's it isn't it? What? Does the brass not want you to be in my chain of command? Man this really sucks!"

"Frankie," She tried to interrupt but he kept on talking.

"It's not fair either. Detective McLean works in Vice and his uncle is the sergeant there."

"Frankie just," she tried again.

"I was really looking forward to working with you as the Homicide sergeant to. I think your gonna be great. Even better than Vince...but don't tell him I said that. This just..."

"Frankie! Will you shut up for a minute and let me talk? Wait, you're happy I'm the new sergeant in Homicide?"

"Well sure, I mean I was until I found out they're kicking me out."

"No one is kicking you out Frankie, not as long as I have a say in the matter, which, oh by the way, now I do." She was grinning at him.

He looked confused, "Then what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to be sure you were okay with me coming back to BPD especially to be the sergeant in Homicide. I mean you were finally getting a chance to be your own man not Jane Rizzoli's little brother."

Frankie smiled and put a hand on Jane's shoulder. "First of all Jane, do you really think you going to Quantico to teach at the FBI Academy was going to keep people from thinking of me as Jane Rizzoli's little brother? You're a legend at BPD Jane, you could move to Timbuktu for the rest of your life and 20 years from now folks would still think of me as Jane Rizzoli's little brother. I've been fighting to live up to your standard since I joined the force and, yeah, sometimes it's a real pain in the ass but I'm okay with it. I'm proud of you Jane, you're the best of the best and I'm proud to be your brother. If that means people expect more of me I'm okay with that too because I expect more of myself. I want to be the best of the best too."

"Frankie, I never knew that," Jane said tearing up a bit.

"Yeah, well it's not the kind of thing a little brother tells his annoying big sister. Oh and as far as you being my sergeant, I'm thrilled about that and not just because it means that twat Crowe isn't the new sergeant. Like I said Jane your the best of the best and I want to learn to be a detective from the best."

"And you're not worried that every time you get a good review or a plumb assignment that people will think it's because you're my brother."

"Look Janie, there are always going to be people who think that way. You and I both know, if anything, you're going to be even harder on me than you are on everyone else. After all I'm a Rizzoli, we've got a reputation to maintain." He grinned at her cheekily.

"Smart ass!" She said, cuffing on the back of his head. Then she pulled him in to a tight hug and whispered in his ear. "Thanks, Frankie, it means a lot to me to know that's how you feel."

He gave her a quick squeeze back. Then pulling out of the hug said, "So are we done here? Can we go to your party now? It's not often Jane Rizzoli shell's out for the booze and the food. I plan on taking advantage."

"Yeah, we can go now but go easy on the booze. I re-did the duty roster. You working tomorrow."

"Oh man! That is so not fair," he grumbled.

Jane just grinned as they walked out into the main room where the party was in full swing.

Spotting her, Maura came over and put an arm around her waist. "Is everything okay?"

Jane pulled her into a hug. "Everything is perfect," she responded, kissing Maura deeply until the sound of applause, whooping and whistling penetrated their little bubble and they pulled apart both blushing furiously.

Jane prepared to say something sarcastic to the crowd then thought better of it, "Aw the hell with it she said," pulling Maura into an even more passionate kiss. Neither of them noticed the renewed applause from the party-goers.

* * *

Well that's it. I hope you liked it. I don't have any immediate plans to continue this story so I'm marking it complete. I may revisit it if something comes to me in the future. Feel free to send me any ideas for things you'd like to see in this storyline. I promise to credit you if I use your idea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey Everyone, in my author's note in the last chapter I asked for any story ideas you might have to continue this story. Absgoalie3 sent the following prompt: "I'd really like to see how Crowe acts and if it causes any trouble!" That got me thinking it might be interesting to tell the story about the announcement of Jane's promotion to the homicide division sergeant from Detective Crowe's point of view.**

 **This is the first time I've written based off of someone else's prompt and I had a blast. This didn't end up where I originally planned but I like the way it went. I hope you do to.**

 **Fair warning there's some rough language in here. I couldn't see Crowe NOT swearing under these circumstances.**

 **Reviews and constructive criticism are welcome.**

 **I still don't own Rizzoli & Isles, unless you count the seasons I've purchased on iTunes ;-)**

* * *

Darren Crowe strutted into the Homicide Division office 10 minutes early for the 8 AM shift change, which was about 40 minutes earlier than he normally got to work. No way I'm missing this, he thought. Last night before everyone left for the day Lieutenant Cavanaugh had mentioned that he would be making an important announcement at the start of shift the next morning and he expected everyone to be there to hear it.

"Look who's early today," Detective Jim Morgan one of Crowe's buddies in Homicide teased, "You expecting good news today?"

"Better watch it Jimbo," Crowe shot back. "After today who do you think will be setting up the work schedule in the division. Be nice or I'll put you on nights for the next 6 months."

"Oh I think we all know who the night shift is going to be reserved for." Morgan laughed looking pointedly over at Detective Frank Rizzoli's desk, "Don't we Frankie?"

"Stow it Morgan, we don't even know what the LT's announcement is about and even if it is about the new sergeant there's no guarantee that Crowe's getting the job." Frank replied to Morgan with more confidence than he felt. "And it's Frank, by the way."

"Keep dreaming...Frankie. With Vince and your sister gone Darren's next in line for the job." This came from Detective Tony Delvecchio another of Crowe's cronies. "Your just upset because the balance of power is shifting in the office and you can't ride along on your sister coat tails or rely on the fact that your buddy Korsak is the Sergeant."

Crowe laughed along with his buddies at that then made the I'm watching you sign at Frank.

Frank resisted the urge to throw the cup of hot coffee in his hand at the lot of them. He knew the accusations were unfair. If anything he'd work even harder than other detectives to live up to his sister's reputation. Detective Jane Rizzoli had left some awfully big shoes to fill. He'd also made a point of volunteering for shifts and cases that no one else wanted precisely so no one could claim Korsak had played favorites in handing out his assignments.

Of course none of that would matter if Darren Crowe became the next sergeant in the Homicide Division. Frank knew that Crowe would do everything in his power to make it difficult for him.

Across the room, Crowe and buddies were talking about that very thing. "Man I can't wait to stick it to Rizzoli, he's gonna work every shit case that comes down the pike and every late night shift I can put him on. I just wish his sister was still here so I could give her the same treatment but I guess I'll have to settle for making Rizzoli Junior pay for the sins of his sister."

"Don't worry buddy," Morgan said clapping him on the back. "You know that little twerp will go crying to his big sis and it'll make her crazy that she can't do anything about it."  
They all had a good laugh at the thought of it.

By this time it was almost 8 AM. Crowe looked up and noticed that Dr. Isles was standing by Rizzoli's desk with Angela Rizzoli of all people. He wondered briefly what she was doing here, maybe she was here to console her baby boy when Crowe got promoted to Sergeant. He soon forgot about Angela though, instead losing himself in a fantasy about how Dr. Isles would treat him with more respect now that he was going to be the homicide sergeant. Maybe she'd finally agree to go out with him. He'd asked a few times but she'd always come up with some excuse why she couldn't.

His musings were interrupted by the arrival of Vince Korsak, which meant that it Lieutenant Cavanaugh was almost certainly announcing his replacement as sergeant. Crowe was a bit surprised that Korsak would come in for the announcement but his being there would make it all the sweeter. He couldn't wait to see Korsak's reaction when Cavanaugh announced his name as Korsak's replacement.

Finally at 8:05 Lieutenant Cavanaugh came out of his office. He waited for the murmurs to cease then began. "It's been over a month since Vince retired and I know you all have been anxious to find out who his replacement will be. We had a number of excellent candidates apply for the job from all over BPD. We even had a few applicants from other police departments."

Crowe's stomach tightened to hear this. He hadn't considered that they might choose someone outside of the division or even outside of the department. The last two sergeants had been promoted from within Homicide.

Cavanaugh took his time, drawing out the suspense. The people listening got the distinct impression that he was enjoying himself immensely. "However, after careful consideration of all the candidates. I have decided to promote from within the homicide division."

Crowe's stomach unclenched and he hissed out a muted "Yes!" while his buddies clapped him on the back. Around the room a number of folks, Frank in particular, let out a groan. A glare from Lieutenant Cavanaugh silenced them all.

"It is with great pleasure I introduce to you the new Boston PD Homicide Division sergeant. Sergeant Detective Jane Rizzoli."

Crowe, who had already started making his way over to where Cavanaugh was standing, stopped dead in his tracks as Jane came out of Cavanaugh's office. "What?" He said dully. Surely he had heard wrong. Jane Rizzoli didn't work for BPD anymore. She'd hung up her detective's badge to go train FBI cadets how to be a pain in the ass for local LEOs. This was wrong, it was completely unfair.

Crowe was steaming and his buddies gathered around him muttering about the unfairness of it all. Eventually though they all did the diplomatic thing and went over to join the crowd around Jane to offer their politically correct, if completely insincere, congratulations, leaving Crowe alone to stew in his resentment.

Jane gave a short speech, which only fueled the fire in Crowe's gut. It was a quiet day in Homicide and Crowe spent most of it stewing at his desk and trying to burn a hole in Jane's back with his eyes.

When Jane started packing up a bit early to head over to the Dirty Robber and prepare for her promotion party Crowe couldn't hold back any longer. "Leaving early on your first day as sergeant Rizzoli? Not exactly the example you want to set for the troops," he taunted despite the fact that he had planned to do the same thing when he thought he was the one being promoted. He made a point of looking around at everyone in the Homicide Division to help make his point and to make sure he had everyone's attention.

Jane took a deep breath, reminded herself that she was a Sergeant now and needed to handle Crowe in a professional manner, even if she would rather drop kick him out the door. "It is traditional for a newly promoted Sergeant to have a party at the Dirty Robber. Since it's quiet here and has been all day I'm going over to get things set up. Everyone is invited." She couldn't bring herself to say that Crowe specifically was invited.

"About your 'promotion'," he said putting air quotes around the word. "I'm a little bit unclear how someone who no longer works for the department can be 'promoted'." He said with a condescending tone once again putting air quotes around the word promoted.

"They can't Detective Crowe," Jane used his rank on purpose to emphasize the fact that he was a detective and she was a sergeant detective. It was obvious from the way his whole body tensed that the point was not lost on him. "I guess it's a good thing I never put in my resignation papers."

"What are you talking about? You got that job at Quantico teaching FBI wannabes. You packed up your desk and everything. You were gone for a month!" His voice was getting louder and louder.

"True, but before I left on vacation," Jane emphasized the word vacation, "Lieutenant Cavanaugh offered me the position as the Sergeant here in Homicide and I rethought my decision to take the job with the FBI."

While Jane kept a tight reign on her emotions, Crowe was getting angrier by the moment.

"Are you saying you knew you got the sergeant's position over a month ago and you never said anything," he shouted getting up in her face. "That's a load of bull shit!"

"Detective Crowe, I suggest you step back." Jane said in a deadly serious tone than anyone with a sense of self-preservation would have listened to. By this time Lieutenant Cavanaugh, alerted by Crowe's yelling, had come to the door of his office but he knew he had to let Jane deal with this herself or the other detectives would think it was okay to treat her with disrespect.

Crowe was beyond reason, he'd had big plans for turning the sergeant's position to his advantage he was going to make the Homicide Division his one little fiefdom and Jane Rizzoli had destroyed all of that. "You're lying, you and Cavanaugh both!" Crow screamed, spittle flying from his lips. "You couldn't cut it at Quantico so you came begging to him and he doctored the paperwork for his pet dyke."

"That's enough Detective Crowe! One more word out of you and I'll have you busted down to traffic cop do you hear me? Now I suggest you go back to your desk and calm down before you do or say anything you'll regret." Jane started to turn away from him signaling the conversation was over.

Crowe saw it as a dismissal and it enraged him all the more. He lunged at her screaming "You fucking bitch," trying to get his hands around her throat.

All around were cries of "Look out!", "Janie!", "Sergeant!" from folks who had been unable to take their eyes of the argument.

It was unnecessary, Jane had expected Crowe to make such a move. It was clear to her that he was beyond reason. She had caught his right arm, twisted it up behind his back and bent him over the nearest desk before he knew what was happening. While he struggled she leaned in and spoke quietly in his ear, "It didn't have to be this way Crowe, we could have tried to work together. But since it did go this way, thanks for making sure we had a bunch of witnesses." Then leaning back out she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "Darren Crowe, you are under arrest for assaulting a police officer, you have the right to remain silent…"

"You're arresting me!" Crowe was incredulous.

"That's entirely up to you. Go right now and request a transfer out of Homicide and I'll forget this ever happened. Try to stick around and fight me on this and I will bring you up on charges."

"Detective Crowe," Lieutenant Cavanaugh said from the door to his office, "I suggest you take Sergeant Detective Rizzoli up on her offer. It's much more generous than you deserve."

Crowe visibly deflated, he knew he was defeated. He'd lost the moment Jane Rizzoli had decided to stay in Boston. He'd never admit it, but she was a better detective than he was. He hated her for it. He always would.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: Sorry this note is probably going to be a bit long. I really recommend everyone read the first paragraph. After that if you want to skip to the story you wont be missing anything you cant afford to miss._

 _Warning to readers: Usually I don't like to post a story (or story line) until I've got the whole thing written or at least have a pretty good idea where I'm going with the story. That is not the case with this story line so I have no idea when I'll be posting the next chapter. I will say I have never left a story (story line) unfinished. However, if you decide to wait to read this chapter until the entire story line is finished I would totally understand. I do that all the time._

 _Where this story idea came from: I was writing a different chapter really just a little crack fic idea I've had for ages and this idea came to me and since chronologically it would come first I decided to write it first. I still plan to finish the other chapter but I wanted to give this a try first. I hope you enjoy it._

 _Question for readers: I've posted this as a chapter on the original story (Would it Ruin Everything) but I'm wondering if if should be a separate story, a sequel. It may only be another couple of chapters or it could go longer, especially if I get some good story ideas from you all, so I'd love to know what you think about whether it should be a continuation of this story or a sequel._

 _As always I do not own Rizzoli & Isles, much as I wish I did. I'm making no money on this story._

 _FYI, I did a little research on how Massachusetts handles child welfare cases but most of that stuff is made up. If I've made a glaring error please let me know, otherwise lets just go with it. Constructive criticism is always welcome._

* * *

It had been an unusually quiet Saturday for Jane and Maura considering they were both on call. Ron was working at the hospital and Angela had come over to make them dinner. They were discussing preparations for Sunday dinner the next day. Now that she lived with Ron, the weekly family get together required a little more advance planning. Who's house would it be held at? Who would be bringing what, etc?

Maura made the mistake of mentioning what a quiet weekend it had been so far.

"No! Maura don't say that you'll jinx it!" Jane exclaimed only half joking.

Smiling at her wife's antics, Maura replied, "Don't be ridiculous Jane, jinxes aren't..."

That was as far as she got before both their cell phones began to ring.

Glaring at her wife Jane stabbed the answer button on her phone, "Sergeant Rizzoli".

"Doctor Isles," Maura answered her own phone mouthing "I'm sorry!" at her wife.

"Got it!" Jane responded to the dispatcher on her phone. "Be there in 20."

"I'm on my way," Maura answered her caller, "thank you."

"I can't believe you're thanking them for pulling us away from our quiet Saturday. Ma's making lasagna for our dinner today you know!"

"I know," Maura smiled at her disgruntled wife, "and I'm sure if you ask her nicely she will save some for you." Angela always made enough to feed a small army just so there'd be enough for leftovers.

"Of course, I will!" Angela responded from her place at the kitchen counter where she had been preparing to the lasanga.

"It's not the same." Jane grumbled refusing to give it up although Maura knew by this point she was just playing with her, especially since Jane had repeatedly told her that lasagna was always better as leftovers. "This is all your fault Miss Jinx."

The pitiful face Jane made was truly pathetic and Maura couldn't contain her laughter, which apparently was what Jane was going for if the sudden change from frowning face to radiant smile was anything to go by.

"I know sweetheart," Maura said as if she were talking to a four-year-old. "If you're a good girl and let it drop I'll make it up to you later." Leaning and whispering so only Jane could hear her she said, "I ordered something new from that 'special' store you like so much and it just came today."

Angela, who had been listening in on their conversation noticed her daughter's face turn bright pink. "Are you alright, sweetheart? Are you coming down with something? You're flushed, maybe you should call Frankie and have him take this call."

"I'm fine Ma, gotta go!" Jane beat a hasty retreat from her mother's kitchen with a laughing Maura following closely behind.

* * *

When they got to the scene all levity was left behind. A couple of police cruisers parked out side the rundown brown stone in Roxbury had attracted the usual gawkers. Not that police cruisers with lights flashing was an unusual sight in Roxbury but human nature being what it was people were always attracted to the possibility of being present when a tragedy was discovered. They would be retelling this story to avid audiences for days.

As they approached the building, Jane noticed one of the uniforms puking in the bushes down the street a ways and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. It wasn't some rookie who'd never been on the scene of a grisly murder before. It was a seasoned veteran. This was going to be bad.

They climbed the front stairs and met Jane's brother on the stoop. "What we got Frankie?" Jane asked adding "Sorry, Frank." at the pained look on the young detective face.

"It's bad Jane." Frank said glancing over at the uniform who had just thrown up and was now wiping his mouth with his handkerchief. He looked back at Jane and Maura. "Best we can tell, the husband went after the wife with a carving knife, cut her up pretty bad, then cut his own throat. Next door neighbor called it in because she heard them fighting, then the woman screaming, then it got, and I quote, 'way too quiet.'"

"Do we have an ID yet?"

"We found the woman's purse on a hook inside the door. Her name is Theresa Clifton. Based on some mail we found it looks like the husband's name is Walter but we haven't found his ID yet." Frank paused taking a breath, steeling himself for the part he knew his sister would hate. "There's more Jane.."

That was as far as he got before they heard a wail coming from inside the house "Mama!"

"There was a kid in there?" Jane asked, her jaw clenching. "Was the kid hurt?" Maura placed her hand on the small of Jane's back. She knew Jane hated wife beaters but when it came to people who beat their own children, well, Jane always said there was a special place in hell for them. Maura didn't believe in Heaven or Hell but in this instance she sincerely hoped Jane was right.

"Actually, there are two kids." Frank replied clearly trying to contain his own feelings about such things. "A boy about two or three and a baby girl, couldn't be more than a few months old."

Jane ran her hand through her hair roughly and asked again, "Were either of them hurt?"

"The toddler has some bruises on his arm, looks like someone grabbed him pretty roughly but other than that he seems fine. The baby appears to be unharmed."

Just then the boy started calling for his mother again this time his cries were joined by the wailing of an infant.

Without another word to Frank, Jane and Maura headed inside.

* * *

The scene when they entered the kitchen was every bit as grizzly as Jane had expected. There was blood everywhere, on the walls, the ceiling, and a big pool on the floor. The appearance of tiny bloody footprints all over the floor, especially around the woman's body, nearly had Jane running for the door to puke in the bushes. Only a herculean effort to control the contents of her stomach kept that from being necessary. Glancing over at Maura, Jane realized that even her wife, normally so good at compartmentalizing such things so she could do her job without letting her emotions cloud her judgment, was having a hard time with this scene.

Before they could even begin to process the scene, the wailing from further in the house ratcheted up a notch. "Why isn't someone taking care of those children?" Jane asked tersely.

She and her wife shared a glance, silently agreeing the scene could wait, and went in search of the two distressed children. They found the toddler in the living room with a male officer trying unsuccessfully to calm the boy down. He seemed reluctant to touch the child who was covered in blood.

Making an exasperated sound Jane walk around the officer and crouched down in front of the boy. "Hey Buddy, I'm Jane, what's your name?" His crying stopped and he stared at her with wet eyes and a trembling lips. She held her arms out to him, not touching him but letting him make the decision. The boy only hesitated a moment before launching himself into Jane's arms and hiding his face in her neck. Jane knew she was contaminating evidence by touching the boy but she figured even her meticulous wife wouldn't fault her for comforting a distraught toddler who had just lost both parents and quite possibly saw it happen.

Seeing her wife dealing with the distressed little boy, Maura followed her ears to find the crying infant. She was more than a bit angry to find the baby girl alone. Could none of the officers on the scene hear her cries. Going to the crib she lift the squalling infant in her arms and held her to her chest. The child's crying subsided almost immediately to quite whimpers.

"Hello sweet girl," Maura cooed to the child. "You're okay, everything's going to be okay. Don't you fret."

Looking around the room Maura realized that despite the fact that this family lived in one of the worst neighborhoods in the city, someone had loved this child very much. Maura suspected it was the child's mother. The room was newly painted a light purple. The furnishings, while inexpensive, were clean and well maintained, as was the room itself. On the wall, in a darker shade of purple, someone had painted the name "Bryleigh".

"Bryleigh, is that you sweet baby? What a pretty name." The calm voice and gentle swaying motion Maura was making seemed to be doing the trick and soon Bryleigh had laid her head on Maura's shoulder and was playing with her necklace. Maura smiled at the baby girl, not the least bit concerned about the ridiculously expensive Tiffany diamond necklace.

Based on the relative quiet in the rest of the house, Maura assumed Jane was also having success in quieting the young boy in the living room. She carried Bryleigh out to see and saw Jane in a similar situation to herself, holding the child and gently swaying with his face buried in her neck. Approaching her wife Maura said in a soft voice, "Jane, this is Bryleigh who do you have there?"

At the sound of his sister's name the toddler lifted his head briefly and looked in Maura's direction then once again buried his face in Jane's neck. "He's not very talkative at the moment," Jane replied in an equally soft voice. "How did you learn her name?" Clearly the child wasn't old enough to be talking yet.

"Oh it's painted on the wall of her room. Maybe we should look for his room. It might have his name on the wall as well."

Jane thought that was an excellent idea and they did a quick survey of the small house. On the second floor they found a bedroom where the door was covered with pictures of rocket ships, soccer balls, and dinosaurs. A sign an the door declared it to be "Bobby's Boy Cave".

"Hey kiddo, are you Bobby? Is that your name?" Jane asked, rubbing the boy's back. He nodded his head against her neck but made no verbal response.

"Well Bobby, why don't we go downstairs and see if anyone has called DCF about you?" The Department of Children and Families would be responsible for finding a foster family for the children until it could be determined if their parents had made any arrangements for them in the case of both their deaths or if their were family members willing to take the children in.

Making there way back downstairs Jane found the uniformed officer who had been the first responder to the scene. "Has DCF been called?"

"Yeah we called as soon as we cleared the scene but its a Saturday and we had to go through their answering service. They said they'd contact the on call Child Welfare Officer and relay the message." By his tone it was clear what he thought about having to go through an answering service to get to the person on call and Jane had to agree with him. Surely the police department should have a direct line to the CWO on call.

She was about to direct the uniform to call again and demand they be given the direct number when the officer's radio came to life. It was the young rookie monitoring access to the crime scene. "Officer Johnston this is Officer Osborn, I have the DCF rep here. Should I let him in?"

Office Johnston looked to Jane, as the senior Homicide detective on the scene it was her call. "No," she said, "We haven't finished processing the scene. We'll go out to him."

Maura's people, ever efficient, had gotten to work without her having to direct them but they still had a long way to go and bringing someone into the house, especially someone who knew nothing about forensics and how not to contaminate evidence, was a no go. She and Maura took Bobby and Bryleigh out to talk to the representative from the Department of Children and Families.

* * *

The man standing just outside the crime scene tape was young. Jane estimated he was in his mid twenties. Great she thought, of course the new guy would be on call on the weekend. The way he blanched when he saw Bobby, still covered in blood from the crime scene, just confirmed her suspicions. It was an unfortunate fact of life that Child Welfare Officers from the DCF soon became inured to such disturbing scenes.

Trying to contain her sigh Jane approached the young man nodding to him. "I'm Sergeant Jane Rizzoli, Homicide, this is Dr. Maura Isles, the Chief Medical Examiner." She paused waiting for him to introduce himself.

"Homicide!" The young man practically squeaked. "Nobody said anything about a murder when I was called. Oh man, I can't believe I have to deal with a murder my first time as the on call CWO."

Jane suppressed a groan, barely, "Look, ..." she paused again looking expectantly at the CWO.

"Oh, uh Matt, Matt Torrey," he responded belatedly.

"Look, Matt, we have what appears to be a murder suicide of the parents. We need to find a temporary placement for these two until we can find their next of kin or see if their parents had a will that made provisions for them. Although I highly doubt that's the case."

"But it's the weekend, our office is closed. My boss said she was going out of town and not to call her under any circumstances." The man was clearly out of his depth and on the verge of panic.

Maura could see her wife was losing her patience and was about ready to go off on the young man. Taking pity on him, Maura stepped in, "Matt, could you give us a minute. I think I may have a solution but I need to speak to Sergeant Rizzoli."

Looking relieved Matt responded, "Yeah, sure. I'll be over by my car." He pointed at a beat up Subaru Outback parked across the street then stepped away from them.

"Thank you." Maura responded with a reassuring smile. "Would you take the children with you?"

Matt blanched but took Bryleigh from Maura's arms. Jane went to put Bobby down so he could go with them but the little boy balked and refused to let go of Jane. Rubbing his back Jane spoke softly in his ear. "It's okay bud, I just need to talk to Maura for a minute. I need you to go with Matt here for a minute." Bobby just shook his head and held on tighter.

Jane gave Maura a helpless look. Maura put her hand over Jane's on the boy's back. "Bobby, sweetheart. It's going to be okay. You're just going over to Matt's car over there." She pointed to the Subaru. "You'll be able to see Jane the whole time, I promise and it won't take very long al all. Okay?"

Bobby looked from Maura to Jane. "You pwomise?"

"Cross my heart" Jane responded making a quick cross over her chest.

Without another word he let Jane place him on his feet and took the hand Matt held out to him.

Maura waited until he was out of earshot then turned to her wife looking more than a bit nervous herself. "Jane, I think we should take them," she said without preamble. "Our approval as foster parents came through a month ago and you know it will increase our chances of being approved for adoption if we have some experience as foster parents. That is why we decided to apply to be foster parents after all And who better to take care of children who have experienced this particular type of traumatic event then a homicide detective and a medical examiner. I know we'll have to recuse ourselves from the investigation but it really does seem to be open and closed. I'm sure..." She knew she was rambling at this point but she couldn't seem to stop herself. There was something about these two children that pulled at her heart and she really wanted to help them.

Fortunately Jane had a great deal of experience with Maura when she when got nervous and couldn't seem to stop talking. Putting her hand on her wife's arm she simply said, "I agree".

"But Jane.." Maura began. She was so certain that she'd have to talk Jane into fostering Bobby and Bryleigh that it took her a moment to process what Jane had said. "Wait, what?"

Smiling at her wife's confusion, Jane repeated herself, "I said, I agree. There's something about these kids Maura. I know you don't believe in fate but the timing is right with our approval to foster coming through and I already feel a connection to them. I feel like we were meant to foster these kids Maura."

Maura was beaming at her. "Thank you Jane!"

"You don't have to thank my sweetheart, I want this too." Jane smiled and leaned in to give Maura a quick kiss. Years ago Jane had said she was never having kids and she really didn't want to bring a child into this world but when she and Maura finally got together she couldn't get the image of them raising a family out of her head. When Maura brought up the possibility of them adopting it had been the perfect solution. Jane didn't want to bring another child into the world but there were so many children out there who needed a family and she and Maura had so much to offer a child.

"I'll let Frank know he's in charge of this investigation," she said, waving her brother, who had just exited the house, over to them.

"I'll give Kent a call to see if he'd be willing to come in on his weekend off to perform the autopsies," Maura said then rethinking the situation, "Actually, it really doesn't seem urgent. Senior Criminalist Patel already has the crime scene well in hand. I think the autopsies can wait until Monday."

"Sounds good, why don't you go let the Baby CWO know what's going on while I brief Detective Rizzoli."

"Jane" Maura chided her wife before heading over to where Matt and the children were standing by his car.

"Brief Detective Rizzoli about what?" Frank asked a little warily. He loved his sister and he appreciated having her as his sergeant, she was the best after all, but it wasn't always easy. He often got the less than glamorous assignments because Jane went out of her way not to show favoritism. He understood why she did it and even agreed with it but that didn't mean he always liked it.

"I need you to take lead on this investigation."

"Sure what's up?" Frank wasn't about to pass up the chance to take lead on an investigation, even if it looked to be an open and shut case but it was unusual for his sister to hand off the lead after the investigation was already underway.

Taking a breath and letting it out slowly Jane answered, unsure what her brother would think. "Maura and I are going to foster these kids."

Frank just blinked at her for a moment. That was not what he was expecting to hear but he recovered quickly. "Wow, that's great Jane! You ready for that?"

"Not even a little bit!" Jane replied with a nervous grin. "I mean is anyone ever ready to take on an infant and a toddler who have just experienced a trauma like this? But our application to be foster parents came through a month ago and fostering will be a big help when we're ready to adopt so…" she trailed off.

"That's great Janie," Frank said reaching out and giving her shoulder a squeeze. "For what it's worth I think you and Maura will be great foster parents to these kids. They're lucky to have you."

"Thanks bro, and don't call me 'Janie'" she responded with a mock glare, before she turned and headed back towards the CWO's car.

As she approached she saw him looking at is government issued tablet computer and heard him talking to Maura. "Okay, here it is Doctor Isles. You have, in fact, been approved as emergency foster parents in cases such as these." He sounded relieved.

"Yes, I know." Jane could tell by the tone of Maura's reply that she was more than a bit irritated by the young man.

"Right, well then, I have some paperwork you need to fill out."

"I believe," Maura said, clearly just moments from going all Queen of the Dead on the poor, unsuspecting young man, "that in cases like this, where the welfare of the children is a concern, that you are allowed to delay the paperwork as long as you have verified our status as emergency foster care providers."

"Um," the young man seemed unsure but at the same time fearful of incurring the wrath of the Medical Examiner.

Jane threw him a bone. " Matt, it is Matt right?"

"Uh yeah."

"Matt, trust me when I say, if my wife says it is okay for the paperwork to wait, then that is exactly what your regulations say."

The inexperienced CWO stared at her for a beat then seemed to make up his mind. Nodding he said, "I'm sure your right. I have different-sized car seats in my car, as well as an emergency foster care kit. It has a change of clothes, diapers, baby food, a teddy bear, and some other stuff."

"We'll take a car seat for each of the children but we wont need the kit." Maura said.

"You sure, babe?" Jane asked. It seemed like it might be a good idea to have some of that stuff just to get started.

Clearly her wife had other ideas. "We can stop at the store on the way home to get the essentials and tomorrow is Sunday we'll have plenty of time to go shopping for anything else we'll need. I shudder to think of the quality, or lack there of, of the items in a kit provided by DCF. They are notoriously underfunded. Besides, this will save them the cost of at least one such kit."

"Alrighty then, Matt. lets have a look at those car seats." Jane said rubbing her hands together.

In short order, they had proper sized car seats for each child installed in there car and the children strapped in and ready to go.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note: Hi everyone, The responses on my sequel or not a sequel question have been pretty even on both sides of the issue so I decided to just continue this story. I know a lot of folks are already following this story. It will be easier for them (and me) than having to find and follow a new story.

It occurs to me that I forgot to mention the timeline for this story line. It takes place roughly a year after the end of Chapter 6, Jane and Maura are married. FYI, I was never one of those little girls who dreamt about their wedding day so I have no desire to write a wedding scene. I apologize to those of you who really love them.

There are some unexpected twists in this chapter. I don't want to give too much away so there's a second author's note at the end of this chapter that explains what happened.

As always, I don't own Rizzoli and Isles and I'm not making any money on this story.

* * *

 _"Alrighty then, Matt. lets have a look at those car seats." Jane said rubbing her hands together._

 _In short order, they had proper sized car seats for each child installed in their car and the children strapped in and ready to go._

* * *

Jane held the passenger side door for Maura, who smiled at her nervously. "You okay?" she asked placing her hand over Maura's where it rested on the car door.

"I know this was my idea but it's all happening so fast," Maura responded. "I'm excited but I guess I'm a little nervous too, or you know, terrified." She looked like she might be ill.

Jane laughed and gave her hand a squeeze. "If it helps, I'm excited too, and terrified."

Maura gave a small laugh in return. "That is not as helpful as you might imagine," she replied, giving her wife a bland look.

Jane smirked at her in return, "Come on Doctor Isles, we got this."

Closing Maura's door she jogged around the car and got into the drivers seat. "So where to first?"

Just as Jane was about to start the car they heard a commotion outside. A child's voice was yelling. "What's going on? Why are the police here? Let go of me! Let me go inside! Where are my Mom & Dad? Where are my brother and sister? What happened?" With each sentence the voice became more and more panicked.

"What the…?" Jane asked looking around trying to see the child but her view was blocked by police personnel and crime scene technicians and their vehicles.

Jane opened her door to see what the ruckus was about and Maura went to follow. "Some one should stay with the kids," Jane said to her. "I'll be right back." She could tell Maura would have liked to go with her but knew she was right. They couldn't just leave Bobby and Bryleigh alone in the car.

When she stood up Jane was able to see a young uniformed officer across the street doing her best to restrain a girl of about 11 years old without hurting the child. Standing nearby, looking scared and confused was a woman and another girl who appeared to be the same age as the young girl with whom the police officer was struggling As she got closer, Jane recognized the uniformed officer. "Hey Cindy," she said projecting calm confidence in hopes of providing a calming influence on the tense situation, "what do we got here?"

"Oh Sergeant Rizzoli, Thank goodness." The officer exclaimed, clearly relieved to see someone who out-ranked her coming to take charge of the situation. "I'm not sure but I think this girl lived here. She's very upset and not making a lot of sense."

Turning to the girl Jane spoke in a calm but not condescending tone. This girl may have been distraught but she was not a small child and Jane knew from experience that nothing shut a tween down faster than being treated like a little kid. "Hi, my name's Jane. I'm a police officer what is your name."

"You're not wearing a uniform. You're a detective aren't you? Something bad has happened, something really bad, hasn't it?" The girl was becoming more upset with every word she uttered. "Just tell me!" she shouted. "They've found us haven't they? They've found us! Where are my mom and dad? Where are my brother and sister? It's my fault!" she moaned. "It's all my fault."

The girl was so agitated Jane had trouble following what she was saying but she latched on to the one thing her detective's instincts told her was important. "Who found you, sweetheart? What's your fault?"

It's was like Jane's questions flipped a switch in the girl. She went from wailing agitation to scared silence in a heartbeat. Not the "I'm afraid for my life" kind of scared but the "I've screwed up and said to much kind of scared". She said nothing but just looked at Jane anxiously.

Jane tried again gently, "Who do you think found you and why would it be your fault?"

But the girl ignored her questions and instead turned the tables on Jane. "Why are you here? Can I see your badge, Detective?"

Jane gave the girl an appraising look assessing both her and the situation. There was more going on here than they originally thought and there was a lot to consider. For one, it looked like she and Maura would be fostering three children instead of two. She knew her wife would never want to separate the siblings and she agreed but they were taking on a lot more than they originally bargained for. She glanced over to where the Matt the CWO had been parked and was happy to see that he had not left yet, no doubt he had heard enough of what the girl had been saying to realize he might not be done here yet. Jane had to give him points for not beating a hasty retreat when he had the chance. She caught his eye and waved him over.

In addition to the situation with the children, it was becoming apparent that there might be more to this crime then it appeared at first glance. Part of her wished she hadn't handed off the investigation to her brother but she had and she wouldn't go back on that. She'd still be there to guide him, besides he was ready. "Cindy," she turned to the young officer, "would you go get Detective Rizzoli for me?" Cindy still had her hand on the girl's shoulder as if she was a perp who might make a break for it, Jane couldn't really blame her but she felt that moment had passed. The girl was just standing there looking at her expectantly or perhaps resignedly was a better description. She was obviously still waiting to see Jane's badge and for answers to her questions but she seemed to know the answers would not be anything she really wanted to hear.

Jane turned back to the girl giving her an appraising look. She was young but there was something in her eyes and her demeanor that spoke of a child who had seen more than any child should in her short lifetimes. Jane sighed, it wasn't uncommon in children raised in an abusive household. Jane decided the unvarnished truth was the best way to go but she needed answers to her own questions as well. Pulling out her badge, she handed it to the girl who took it and examined it closely. "I'm Detective Sergeant Jane Rizzoli. What's your name?"

The girl handed back the badge giving Jane an equally appraising look. She seemed to come to a decision and replied, "I'm Bernie, Bernice, Clifford. I live here. Why are you here? What happened to my family?"

It appeared Bernie had decided to use her answers to Jane's questions as bargaining chips to get answers of her own. Okay Jane thought, I can work with that. She took a slow calming breath and prepared to deliver her devastating news when her brother walked up.

"You needed to see me?" he asked. "I'm kind of busy with the investigation. Why are you still here I thought you and Maura were taking..."

Jane cut him off not wanting him to say the wrong thing in front of Bernie before she had a chance to break the news. "Frank, this is Bernie Clifford," she said indicating the girl. She lives here." She gave him a look doing her best to communicate that he needed to keep quiet for now about what had happened to her parents. "Bernie, this is Detective Frank Rizzoli."

The girls eyebrows rose at the name but she made no comment. Jane continued "I'm sorry to tell you that he is investigating the death of your parents."

"Nooo." Bernie's response was more of a keening than a scream. She swayed on her feet but when Jane reached out to steady her Bernie shook her off. "I'm okay," she said tersely. "What happened?"

As gently as she could Jane said " I'm sorry honey but it looks like your father killed your mother then killed himself. Did your parents fight a lot? Did your dad ever hurt your mom?"

"No, you're wrong!" Bernie replied fiercely. "That is not what happened! My dad would never hurt my mom. You're wrong!"

Jane reached out to the girl again. This time trying to calm her down but she jerked away again. Then as if she just realized something she grabbed Jane's wrist, "Wait, you said my parents are dead. What about Bobby and Bry. Oh my god! Where are my brother and sister?"

Jane took hold of Bernie's shoulders and this time the girl let her. "Bernie, Bernie calm down. They're okay, they weren't hurt. They're in my car right over there. My wife and I are taking them home with us."

"You can't separate us. I need to be with them. I need to protect them!" Bernie was frantic.

Jane thought the girls word choice was interesting. She needed to "protect" them, not she needed to "take care of" them. Again she wondered if her reaction was the result of an abusive household but their father was dead and the girl still felt the need to protect her siblings. All of this flashed through her mind but she needed to reassure the girl before she dealt with any of that. "We won't separate you I promise." Jane said firmly. "We didn't realize there were three of you. Of course, you will come with us too." With this she looked around at the CWO, who had been hovering near by and caught his eye.

Understanding her intentions he just nodded and said, "I'll take care of it." He turned to head towards his car but Jane called out to him. "Would you stay with the younger children and send my wife over?"

"Sure thing."

As he headed off, Jane turned back to Frank. "I know you…" she began but was interrupted by the woman with the other girl who had been with Bernie when she returned home.

The two had been standing by quietly observing the interaction between Bernie and the detective unsure of what, if anything they should do. "Excuse me," the woman said timidly.

Jane looked at the woman a bit surprised. She had forgotten she was there. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I, um I, is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, clearly unsure of herself.

"I'm sorry ma'am. What is your name?" Jane asked not unkindly.

"Oh, forgive me, this all so shocking. I'm Anna Erickson, Bernie goes to school with my daughter Paula. She slept over at our house last night. We were just walking her home."

Well that explained why Bernie hadn't been at home when her parents died. "Thank you for sticking around," Jane responded sincerely. "A lot of folks would have hightailed it as soon as they saw all the police cars." She didn't add, especially in this neighborhood.

"If you wouldn't mind giving your contact information to Detective Rizzoli. I'm sure he'll have some questions for you later. It's still early in the investigation and there are some things he needs to take care of first."

"Certainly," Anna responded. Then she seemed to consider saying something more.

Jane picked up on it. "Is there something you want to tell us now?"

The woman hesitated for a moment more than spoke. "Just that I have to agree with Bernie. I never saw anything that made me think that Wally was hurting Theresa or the children. The worst thing you could say about either one of them was that they were a bit over protective of the kids, very slow to warm up to anyone in the neighborhood. I mean, they moved here over a year ago and Bernie and Paula became friends right away but this is the first time they let Bernie spend the night and they made her promise not to walk home alone. She was either supposed to call them or have my wife or I walk her home."

Jane glanced over at Frank and saw him taking notes, good. She turned back to Anna, "Thank you for telling us that. I'm sure Detective Rizzoli will want to follow-up with you later."

It was clear that Jane was allowing the woman to leave but she hesitated. "What about the children?"

Jane looked at the woman assessing her motives for asking the question and decided it was part curiosity and part concern for their welfare. "Unless you know of any family in the area they will be assigned temporary foster care until a permanent placement can be found." Jane didn't feel the need to mention that she and her wife would be taking care of the children.  
"No, like I said, Wally and Theresa weren't the type to share a lot of details about their family." she said with a shrug.

"Okay, then. Thanks for your help." Jane extended her hand to shake hands with the woman. Hoping she would get the hint and leave. "Detective Rizzoli will be in touch."

The woman shook Jane's hand then putting her arm around her daughter's shoulder the two headed back the way they had come.

During this last exchange Maura had been standing by quietly. As the woman walked away she came up beside Jane and tucked her hand inside her elbow. Smiling at Bernie she asked, "Jane, who is this? Will we be having another…guest staying with us?"

"Oh hey Maura? Yeah this is Bernie, let me just talk to Frank for a bit then I'll make proper introductions." Turning back to her brother she said. "I know you need to talk to the kids, although I'm not sure how much help the little ones are going to be, but I think it would be a good idea to get them home and settled first. Why don't you finish up here and you can stop by our place when your done."

"Sounds like a plan," Frank replied and headed back toward the house. Normally he would be reluctant to let any witnesses, even children leave the scene before he had a chance to question them but he knew he could trust Jane and Maura not to do anything to taint their testimony.

Turning back to Maura and Bernie Jane saw that they had handled the introductions with out her help. Maura was rubbing the girl's shoulder and trying to console her. "I'm so sorry this happened to you and your family. I know it probably isn't much consolation but Jane and I are going to take good care of you and your siblings. And Detective Rizzoli will do his best to get to the bottom of what happened here."

The girl remained silent but she didn't pull away from Maura the way she had earlier from Jane. I guess that's a good sign, Jane thought.

As they turned back to the car, Bernie ran ahead and jumped in the back seat with her brother and sister. Anxious to see for herself that they were okay. "Bewnie! Momma and Daddy got hurt. I couldn't wake them up!" They heard Bobby cry out to his big sister.

"I know buddy. Are you okay? Did anybody try to hurt you or Bry?" Bernie's voice was shaky and she turned to Jane and Maura as they approached. "He's covered in blood!" she accused, glaring at Jane, "I thought you said they were okay!"

It was Maura who responded. "They are. That is not Bobby's blood."

Bernie blanched and looked as if she might be sick. "Oh, oh god!"

Neither Jane nor Maura could think of any thing they could say that could soften the implications of Bernie's brother being covered in that much blood that was not his own.

Sighing Jane said, "Come on let's get home and get you guys settled in. We'll stop at Walmart on the way to get a change of close for Bobby and any other essentials we'll need until we can get back into your house and get your things."

Bernie just nodded numbly and climbed into the back seat between her siblings' car seats. Jane had one of those random thoughts that appear at odd moments. It's a good thing we took my cruiser today instead of the Prius. We'd never have gotten all three kids in the back of that little thing. Guess looking for a bigger car is another thing to add to our to do list.

Shaking her had at how strange it was to think of such a thing at a time like this, she got into the driver's seat and headed off in the direction of the nearest Walmart.

* * *

Author's Note #2: So this story is taking a bit of a left turn from what I had planned and you have a review from Jordan Springs to thank for it. The review said in part, "Hope it is not an open and shut case. Love to see Rizzles working together to solve a case." I had originally planned to focus solely on Jane and Maura fostering these kids but the review got me thinking. I've never written about a case It would be a challenge for me to do so and I like a good challenge. So I still plan to write about Maura & Jane being foster parents but I've decided the crime mentioned in the last chapter is not what it appears to be.

Wish me luck. I'm not entirely sure where this story is headed!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's note: I want to thank you all for your support of the new direction this story is taking. I hope I can do it credit. As I mentioned in my author's note on the last chapter, I've never written about one of their cases I'm excited but also a little nervous about it. Your constructive criticism is welcome.

Additional Note: I had planned to get into the crime more in this chapter but I've got guests coming this weekend so I thought it would be better to publish what I have so far rather than make you wait. Besides I was at a good stopping point in an "evil cliffhanger" kind of way!

* * *

 _Sighing Jane said, "Come on let's get home and get you guys settled in. We'll stop at Walmart on the way to get a change of close for Bobby and any other essentials we'll need until we can get back into your house and get your things."_

 _Bernie just nodded numbly and climbed into the back seat between her siblings' car seats. Jane had one of those random thoughts that appear at odd moments. It's a good thing we took my cruiser today instead of the Prius. We'd never have gotten all three kids in the back of that little thing. Guess looking for a bigger car is another thing to add to our to do list._

 _Shaking her had at how strange it was to think of such a thing at a time like this, she got into the driver's seat and headed off in the direction of the nearest Walmart._

* * *

The trip to Walmart ended up taking quite a bit longer than they had originally planned. Despite her original reluctance to shop at a department store, the horror, Maura succumbed to the convenience of being able to buy everything they needed for the next few days in one stop. So in addition to getting a change of clothes for Bobby, she insisted on getting two changes of clothes for each of the children, including underthings, pajamas, toothbrushes, and toiletries. They also got enough groceries for all of them for a few days, diapers, baby bottles and formula, a crib, a toy for each of the smaller children, a couple of books for Bernie and more. Jane always knew Maura was a champion shopper but she was going for an Olympic Gold Medal in shopping during this visit.

It was getting late by the time they headed home and they considered stopping for takeout on the way but a quick call to Angela confirmed that she had left more than enough of her lasagna as well as salad and garlic bread for all of them. She was full of questions about the children Jane and Maura were taking in but Jane cut her off with a curt "Later Ma, it's been a long day and we need to get these guys home and settled."

"Of course, Janie, you take good care of those poor babies."

"We will Ma, thanks."

When they finally pulled into their garage Jane was a bit surprised that Frank wasn't there to greet them. "I would have thought Frank would be done at the crime scene by now and would be here to interview Bobby and Bernie."

"He must have gotten held up at the scene or maybe he got sent out on another call." Maura reasoned..

"Hmm, maybe. Anyway, let's get these kids fed and ready for bed. Bobby's not going to last much longer, he was asleep most of the way home," Jane commented.

"The interview may have to wait until tomorrow," Maura replied.

Shutting off the car Jane turned to the back seat. It was the first chance she'd had to really look at all three of them together. They had a strong family resemblance, with dark auburn hair and beautiful light brown eyes. They were slender but not skinny. They looked healthy and well cared for. Bernie was about average height for a 12 year old girl. They had managed to get her to tell them her age if very little else.

Bobby's head was resting on Bernie's shoulder his features slack. Her hand was holding Bryleigh's and the baby was fast asleep as well. "We're here" Jane said quietly. "Hang tight, Maura and I will help you get the two sleepy heads inside." She guessed, and rightly so, that Bernie was not yet ready to cede her position as protector of her younger siblings so Jane offered to help not to do the job herself.

"If you can get the baby, I'm sure Maura can handle Bobby and I'll start bringing in the groceries and such."

Bernie looked as if she might argue but then seemed to reconsider. "Okay," she said then added quietly, "thanks". Jane wasn't sure if she was thanking her for the help or for her understanding.

It occurred to Jane that Bernie was very bright and very mature for her age. "No problem," she replied lightly.

* * *

As Jane proceeded to unload the car and put the groceries away Maura showed Bernie and Bobby around the house. Bobby had started to wake up as soon as Maura took him out of his car seat and now wanted to be put down so he could look around. Taking her cue from Jane she consulted Bernie on decisions as to where each of the children would sleep rather than telling her.

"So, this is the guest bedroom. Bernie, would you like to take this room? There's a yoga room across the hall where Bobby could sleep. I've got an air mattress we can put in there until we can get him a proper bed."

"I want us to be in the same room, all of us." Bernie said tightening her hold on her little sister and turning ever so slightly away from Maura. It wasn't a demand but it was close.

"Well the guest room has a queen size bed so that's certainly big enough for you and Bobby but I think it might be better if I set up Bryleigh's crib in the master bedroom with Jane and I" Maura replied carefully.

"Why?" Bernie said showing more of the petulant tween than she had up to this point.

"Well for one thing. There really isn't enough room for the crib in here." Maura said reasonably.

Bernie surveyed the room and couldn't really argue the point.

"Also, I'm guessing Bryleigh isn't sleeping through the night yet. I know you are old enough to handle that but you wouldn't want her waking up Bobby would you? He's still a small boy. He needs his sleep."

"Fine," Bernie conceded just a bit huffily. "But Bobby and I are staying together."

"Okay, if that's what you want. You may get tired of it after a while and we can revisit the arrangements later if you wish." Maura didn't want to get into a fight with the girl on their first night and her need to be near her younger brother was a reasonable response to everything that had happened to them. In fact, it would probably be good for Bobby at first to have his big sister nearby.

With that settled Maura showed them where they could put the things they'd just bought, when Jane brought them in and where the bathroom was. She also showed Bernie where the master bedroom was so she would know that Bryleigh was nearby. She didn't mention that it also meant she and Jane would be close by should she or her brother need them.

By the time, they'd finished the tour of the house Jane had the car emptied and was working on putting the groceries away. When they came into the kitchen she greeted them, "Hey, I'm almost done here. Why don't you grab your stuff," she pointed to a pile of Walmart bags in the corner, "and put it in your rooms and I'll get dinner started. It just needs to be warmed up so it shouldn't take long."

Maura turned to Bernie, "I could hold Bryleigh for you while you do that,"

The girl hesitated, clearly still not sure if she could trust these two strangers, but eventually handed the baby to Maura. "Okay thanks, We'll be right back. Come on Bobby, you grab this bag." She handed her little brother one of the lighter bags and grabbed the rest herself. The two of them heading out of the kitchen and upstairs.

"How'd the tour go?" Jane asked as Maura pulled the lasagna and garlic bread out of the fridge and put it in the oven to warm.

"Okay," Maura replied with a bit of a shrug.

Her tone made Jane stop what she was doing. She walked over and wrapped her arms around Maura and the baby, kissing her wife's temple and then the baby's cheek. "What's wrong, baby?"

Maura leaned into Jane reveling in the love and warmth of her embrace, while resting her cheek on Bryleigh's little head. "It's nothing," she began but a look from Jane changed her mind. "I know fostering was always our plan but, do you think we're ready for this? Can we handle three children who just lost there parents in such a violent way. I feel like I'm just making this up as I go along. Bernie wanted all three of them to stay together in the guest room. I was able to convince her it would be better to set up the baby's crib in our room but she and Bobby will be sharing the guest room...for now. I think she'll get tired of that eventually."

"Ya think?" Jane snorted. "Take it from someone who grew up with two younger brothers. As soon as she gets used to being here and feels safe she'll change her tune on that." Giving Maura a squeeze Jane went back to putting groceries away. "I'm going to let you in on a secret," she said when she'd emptied the last bag. "Parents are always 'making it up as they go'. That's the nature of parenthood. Fortunately, the more practice you get the better you get at it. Granted, we've kind of been thrown in the deep end of the pool but can you really think of a couple who's better suited to help these kids than we are?"

Maura, being Maura paused to really consider Jane's question. "I guess not," she replied. Leaning over to kiss her wife on the cheek she said, "thanks sweetheart."

Grinning Jane said, "You're welcome. But you owe me one, so when I start freaking out about fostering three kids you have to talk _**me**_ down."

"Deal."

* * *

Dinner was as awkward as you might expect given the circumstances. Bernie stuck to one word answers when she bothered to answer at all. Bobby answered readily enough when he was asked a question but was obviously confused about why he wasn't at home with his parents. "When we goin' home to Momma & Daddy?" he asked.

While Jane and Maura were considering how to explain it to him Bernie jumped in. "Mommy and Daddy are in heaven Bobby. Do you remember what Mommy said about heaven when your pet rabbit died?"

He nodded solemnly and teared up as he answered, "She said that where people go to wait for us when they can't be wif us right now. It a good place and if we be good we get to go there too some day. Mommy and Daddy are in heaven wif Hippity? They not gonna be wif us here anymore."

"Yeah buddy." Bernie said her voice breaking.

"Does that mean we can't see 'em till we go ta heaven too?"

"Yes, that's what it means." Bernie just managed to get that out before she burst into tears and ran up the stairs, slamming the door to their room. This startled the baby and soon both Bryleigh and Bobby were wailing.

Maura looked at Jane alarmed and clearly unsure what to do. "I'll take Bernie" Jane said, getting up from her seat. "Do you think you can handle these two?"

Maura, honest as ever, replied "I'm not sure, but I'll try. Go take care of Bernie."

Jane could hear Bernie sobbing through the closed door. When she was a child her mother would have come barging in without so much as a by your leave. Jane had hated that so she knocked, "Bernie, honey, can I come in?"

"Go away!"

Jane considered her options. She didn't want to enter the room against the girl's wishes but she couldn't leave her when she was so distraught. So she compromised. She sat down on the floor in the hallway with her back against the door.

"I'm not going to tell you I know how you feel," she began. "Both of my parents are still alive so I can't pretend to know what that's like. But just because I don't know what it's like to go through what you're going through doesn't mean I can't help you, right? That's all Maura and I want is to help all three of you get through this. We're not trying to replace your parents either. I know no one can ever do that."

She paused considering her words. She could hear Bernie was still crying but the wracking sobs she had initially heard had subsided to soft sniffles and she was pretty sure Bernie was listening to her. "Bernie, one thing I do know, is what it's like to be the oldest of three kids. I've got two younger brothers. I know what it's like to feel responsible for them. It's a good thing that you feel that way, sweetheart. It means your a good big sister. But you're still a kid yourself. I know you probably don't like to hear that from adults but it's true. So it's okay to let people help you. That's what Maura and I are here for, okay?"

There was silence for a moment then Jane heard the bed creak. She just managed not to fall on the floor when Bernie pulled the door open. Seeing Jane sitting on the floor Bernie plunked herself down beside her. "I'm scared," she said in a small voice.

Jane ran her hand over Bernie's long dark hair and put her arm around Bernie's thin shoulders. "I know sweetie. I promise we're going to take care of you."

Bernie gave her a searching look, clearly trying to decide if she could trust her. Finally, she just asked "Can I trust you? Really trust you? With my life and Bobby's and Bryleigh's lives?"

Jane thought it an odd question but she could see how serious Bernie was so she gave her the best oath she could think of. "I swear on my honor as a police officer that I will protect you and your brother and sister...with my life if necessary."

Tearing up again Bernie replied, "It might just come to that. There's something I have to tell you."

Just then there was a knock at the door and Bernie grabbed Jane's arm in a vice grip of terror. "Don't let them get us!"


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note: Hey All, I want to thank you for all the reviews, favorite's and follows. I'm having a blast writing this and that in and of itself would be enough but it's great to see that others are enjoying it too. Plus I'm alway's open to ideas and or constructive criticism.

Along that vein, I want to ask if you think this should be bumped up to an "M" rating because of the mention of violence in this chapter. I don't think it is overly explicit but I'd be interested in what you all think.

Since I don't think I mentioned it in the last chapter. I do not own Rizzoli and Isles and I make no money from this story. I just enjoy playing with Jane, Maura and the whole BPD gang!

* * *

 _Bernie gave her a searching look, clearly trying to decide if she could trust her. Finally, she just asked "Can I trust you? Really trust you? With my life and Bobby's and Bryleigh's lives?"_

 _Jane thought it an odd question but she could see how serious Bernie was so she gave her the best oath she could think of. "I swear on my honor as a police officer that I will protect you and your brother and sister with my life if necessary."_

 _Tearing up again Bernie replied, "It might just come to that. There's something I have to tell you."_

 _Just then there was a knock at the door and Bernie grabbed Jane's arm in a vice grip of terror. "Don't let them get us!"_

* * *

Jane had locked her gun in the gun safe in the entry hall closet as soon as they had come in the house but seeing Bernie's reaction to a simple knock at the door she wondered if that had been a bad idea.

Removing the girl's hand from her arm and giving it a gentle squeeze, Jane said. "Stay here, everything will be fine I promise"

She hurried down the stairs. Maura was sitting on the couch in the living room. Hearing her wife come downstairs and unaware of the scene that had just taken place up stairs, she said. "Oh good, can you get the door Jane? I am otherwise occupied." Her tone was odd and glancing over to the couch Jane realized Maura was pleased with herself and rightly so. She had both Bobby and Bryleigh with her on the couch and they were both sound asleep. If Jane wasn't so concerned about what had just happened with Bernie she would have taken a picture with her phone.

She was about to tell Maura to take the children up stairs and wait there until she said it was okay to come down when she heard a floor board creaking behind her. She spun around ready to confront whoever might be preparing to attack but pulled back her counter strike at the last moment. "Damn, Bernie, I thought I told you to stay upstairs."

"Bobby and Bryleigh are down here!" She exclaimed, assuming that was justification enough for disobeying Jane.

Jane was about tor disabuse her of that notion when the knock came again. "Help Maura get you brother and sister upstairs and stay there until I say it's safe to come down!"

"Jane, what's going on?" Maura's voice betrayed her fear. She handed the baby to Bernie, who had come around the couch to help her, and she stood with Bobby in her arms.

"Later Maur, I promise. Just get the kids up stairs now."

Maura considered insisting Jane explain what was going on but reconsidered when she realized she had children to consider now. Nodding she headed upstairs with Bobby in her arms and Bernie and Bryleigh following behind.

Jane waited until they were all upstairs before she approach the door. She considered getting her gun but whoever was on the other side of the door knocked again, louder this time and Jane was afraid if she didn't answer the door they might kick it in.

* * *

Approaching the door quietly she leaned forward, looking through the peephole and relaxed. Pulling open the door she layed into her brother. "Dammit, Frankie, you scared the crap outta me."

Frank looked puzzled, "What, why? And its 'Frank'".

"Never mind, what took you so long? I thought you'd be here two hours ago." Jane led Frank into the living room. "Hang on a sec," she said then walked to the base of the stairs and loudly stated, "It's okay, it's just Frank."

Maura appeared at the top of the stairs. "Bernie and I are putting the younger kids to bed. I'll be down as soon as I can."

"Okay."

Jane walked back into the living room. "You eat yet? I can heat up some of Ma's lasagna?"

"I'm starving that would be great, thanks. I haven't eaten since lunch."

"No problem." They headed into the kitchen. "You want a beer?" Jane asked, heading for the fridge.

"Better make it a Coke. Technically I'm still working. I've got to interview the kids."

Jane placed a can of Coke in front of her brother, who had taken a seat at the kitchen island, and went back to the fridge to get the lasagna. Putting a huge portion on a plate she covered it and put it in the microwave.

Turning back to her brother she said, "Maura's putting the younger ones to bed. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to talk to Bobby. He was out like a light so I don't think you'd have gotten anything from him tonight anyway."

"Okay, what about the older girl? What was her name Bennie?"

"Bernie, short for Bernice."

"I'd prefer to wait if.." Jane began then saw the look on her brother's face. Remembering her earlier conversation with Bernie and Bernie's reaction to a knock at the door she got a sinking feeling in her stomach. "What?" she demanded, "What did you find at the scene?"

Just then the microwave beeped and Jane pulled the plate of lasagna out sitting it in front Frank along with a fork and a napkin.

Picking up his fork and cutting off a chunk of the lasagna, Frank sighed, wishing he had better news. "I think she's right Jane, Bernie that is, she said the crime wasn't what it looked like. She said her father would never kill her mother or himself and the evidence backs her up."

Jane was not surprised. "What did the crime scene techs find?" she asked resignedly.

"That there was at least one other person in the room when the crime went down, maybe more," Frank replied. "Whoever it was they were good, techs almost missed it. They think whoever it was may know something about forensics or at least about forensic counter measures." Frank paused to wolf down a bite of his dinner, washing it down with a swig of soda.

"How can they tell that?" Jane wondered.

"Well, for one thing, even with all the blood at the scene they only found a couple of partial footprints that didn't match either of the Cliftons. And, the foot prints they found were entirely nondescript, probably made from a common brand of leather-soled shoes so there's no way to match the print to a specific brand of shoes and possibly find where they were purchased."

"Damn," Jane breathed pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Also, despite the presence of a good bit of arterial blood spray they couldn't find any voids in the spatter to indicated the presence of anyone else in the room. The only indication that there was someone besides the Cliftons in that house was those two partial foot prints."

Frank let that sink in while he continued to eat lasagna, then he continued. "There's more. It's pretty bad" he glanced up the stairs towards where he knew the children were. "When we realized we weren't dealing with a murder suicide I called Kent in. I stopped by the morgue when I was done at the scene. He was still working on the autopsies but he said the wounds on Theresa Clifton only looked like the act of an enraged husband. He said, aside from the fatal wound, they were all strategically placed to be extremely painful and or bloody but not deadly."

Frank pushed his plate aside, suddenly losing interest in his dinner. "He said he had seen similar injuries when he was in Afghanistan."

Before he could say more Jane said it for him, "They were questioning the Cliftons, torturing the wife to get her or the husband to tell them what they wanted to know. There had to be more than one, someone had to control the husband while the wife was being tortured. Were there any ligature marks on the husband?"

"I asked Kent the same thing. At first it appeared there weren't but then he used the UV light on the husband's corpse and it showed some peri-mortem bruising around the wrists and ankles. He says they must have used something soft and thick like a towel or something. If they used rope, or tape, or zip ties it would have showed up in a visual inspection of the body. Like I said, these guys were good."

"Damn!" Jane said again, angrier this time.

"Not that you haven't already figured it out but Kent said the husband didn't cut his own throat either. It was close but the angle and depth of the cut were just a bit off for someone cutting their own throat."

Jane puffed out a breath in frustration. "So the questions are, what were they looking for and did they get it? It seems likely they did, since they killed both of the Cliftons and left but I suppose something could have spooked them into leaving before they were done." Jane's expression said she didn't hold out much hope for that option.

"I hope they did get whatever it was they were looking for." Maura's voice coming from the kitchen door caused them both to jump.

"Jesus Maura! Don't sneak up on people like that." Jane exclaimed, putting her hand to her chest. "What do you mean you hope they got what they were looking for?" Jane's look of alarm morphed to one of confusion.

Maura's look said quite clearly she hadn't snuck up on anybody. "I mean, if they didn't get what they wanted from the Cliftons they could come after Bernie. We all know there's something she hasn't told us yet."

Jane nodded, Maura had a point. In fact, Bernie had been about to tell her something before Frank's knock sent her into a panic. "How much did you hear and where is Bernie by the way?"

"I heard enough to be worried about the safety of those three kids, especially Bernie since the other two are too young to know much of anything. Bernie's upstairs with Bobby. The process of preparing for bed woke him up and he's having trouble getting back to sleep. I offered to stay but she wanted to do it. When I left she was singing him a song about a mocking bird hill?"

Frank and Jane smiled despite the dire circumstances. Their own mother had sung them to sleep with Mocking Bird Hill when they were little too.

Frank gave Maura a quick recap of what she had missed and then the three began spitballing ideas about what the motive might be behind the killings. Well Jane and Frank were spitballing ideas. Maura still didn't like guessing and even if she were so inclined she would call it theorizing. Maura Isles had never in her life done anything she would call spitballing and she wasn't about to start.

Frank thought one or both of the Clifton's had double crossed someone on a drug deal and made off with either the money, the drugs, or both. "That would explain the torture," he reasoned, "they were trying to get the Cliftons to tell them where their property was."

"I don't know," Jane replied. "They may not have lived in a great neighborhood but that house didn't scream drug dealer to me. Plus, I don't see anyone withstanding that kind of torture to protect money or drugs."

"Maybe they figured if they gave it up whoever was doing the torturing would just kill them. Maybe they figured it was their only leverage to stay alive," Frank came back, not yet ready to give up on his theory of the crime.

"Maybe," Jane said, "but this just doesn't feel like some gang banger drug bust gone bad to me. The method of torture isn't what I'd expect from a gang and the fact that the killers left behind so little evidence of their involvement isn't like a gang hit either. Gang's want people to know when they've done something like this. It keeps other people from considering double crossing them."

"Good point," Frank conceded.

Jane was about to offer up another idea when Frank's cell phone began to ring. He glanced at it prepared to hit ignore when he saw who it was. "Hang on, this is Nina, she was looking into the Clifton's for me."

"You called your pregnant wife into work on a Saturday?" Jane asked, scandalized.

"Of course not, duh!" Frank gave Jane his best I'm not as big of an idiot as you think I am look. "I called to let her know I wouldn't be home for dinner, like a good husband, and she volunteered to look into them for me. Said it would be a good test of her home access to the BPD servers." Nina had worked out a deal with Lt Cavanaugh to work from home part time in return for extended maternity leave. With her due date just a month away she had set up access to the BPD Servers from her home. This was the first time she had attempted to use the system.

Frank, answered his cell just before it would have gone to voicemail. "Hey Nina, how did it go?"

Nina said something Jane and Maura couldn't hear then Frank said, "Hang on, I'm with Jane and Maura let me put you on speaker." He pushed the button.

"Hey Nina," Jane said.

"Hello, Nina, how are you feeling?" Maura asked.

"Hi Jane, hi Maura. I'm doing good now that the morning sickness has finally slacked off a bit. I was getting a more than a bit sick of it, if you'll excuse the pun!"

Frank chuckled and Jane groaned. Maura, said "I have no doubt."

"Anyway," Nina continued, the smile evident in her voice, though the subject matter of her call soon turned the mood somber. "I haven't had time to do a real deep dive on the Clifton but I was able to do a pretty thorough initial background check; credit cards, bank statements, police reports, hospital visits, etc."

"What did you find?" Frank asked.

"It all looked pretty normal at first glance but then I noticed something. The last couple of years are pretty much what you'd expect a speeding ticket here and there, a visit to the emergency room when the baby had a high fever, normal purchases on the credit card. They don't go out to eat much, maybe once a month. Soccer equipment, probably for the older child. Apparently some one in the family likes building model aircraft. Your average family purchases tailored to the likes, dislikes of the family."

"Okay, that's not going to be very helpful," Jane said, clearly disappointed that Nina's search hadn't revealed anything useful.

"Hang on, I'm not done yet," Nina said. Jane could have sworn Nina was drawing the moment out for dramatic effect. "Like I said, that's the last couple of years. The records from further back though are different."

"Different how?" Maura asked, intrigued.

"They're…" Nina hesitated, searching for the right word, "vanilla."

"Huh?" this from Jane.

"They're too generic, restaurant charges once a week every week, groceries, gas for the car, no hospital visits, no parking or speeding tickets, nothing that shows any of them had any hobbies or interests. Like I said they're very vanilla."

"So what does that mean." Maura again, fascinated by Nina's discovery.

"To be honest," Nina said, "I probably wouldn't have even noticed if I hadn't seen something like this when I was a cop in Chicago. We ran a background check on a perp in a bank heist and his records were the same. For about six months back they were normal but before that they were generic, very similar, in fact, to the Clifton's older records. Like someone was trying to make the record as nondescript as possible so it wouldn't raise any questions."

Nina paused and once again Jane got the feeling it was for dramatic effect. It appeared her sister-in-law liked to put on a bit of a show. Jane couldn't blame her. She'd employed a dramatic pause or two in her time as well.

Nina continued, "Turns out the guy in that case was in…"

"WITSEC." Jane, Maura, and Frank all jumped at Bernie's voice coming from behind them.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Hey everyone, I hope all you from the USA had a great Thanksgiving yesterday. If you're braving the stores on Black Friday I wish you luck in finding all the best deals. Sorry this update took so long. I've been crazy busy lately.

Thanks for all the reviews, follows & favorites. They make my day. Shout out in particular to ahsnaps who left me some constructive criticism. I don't know how well say I've done at incorporating your suggestions but they are there in the back of my head when I'm writing.

Enjoy this update. I still don't own Rizzoli & Isles, sad but true.

* * *

 _Nina paused and once again Jane got the feeling it was for dramatic effect. It appeared her sister-in-law liked to put on a bit of a show. Jane couldn't blame her. She'd employed a dramatic pause or two in her time as well._

 _Nina continued, "Turns out the guy in that case was in…"_

"WITSEC." Jane, Maura, and Frank all jumped at Bernie's voice coming from behind them.

* * *

There was a moment of stunned silence then everyone began speaking at once.

"WITSEC?"

"Your were in the…"

"Is that what…"

Bernie was clearly taken aback by the onslaught. Jane made shushing motions with her hands and raised her voice, "Hey, hey, everybody quiet!"

She held out her hand to the clearly frightened girl. Tentatively Bernie took it and Jane gently pulled her forward and motioned her to sit at one of the seats at the breakfast bar.

"Your family was in the witness protection program?" she asked gently.

Bernie didn't say anything just nodded her head and looked down at the counter top.

Jane placed a caring hand on the Bernie's shoulder then moved it to her chin and ever so gently tilted her head up so the girl was looking her in the eyes.

"Why didn't you tell us right away?" it wasn't an accusation but genuine curiosity.

Bernie's eyes filmed over with tears and Maura who had been standing on the opposite side of the breakfast bar came around and put her arm around Bernie's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You're safe here, you can trust us," she told the youngster.

"I'm not supposed to though," Bernie replied in a small, miserable voice.

"What? Why?" Frank's confusion was plain on his face. Most school children were taught to trust police officers, especially when they were in trouble.

"It's rule number one in WITSEC," Bernie explained, still despondent. "Never tell anyone you're in the program, ever! Not teachers, not old friends, or new friends, or doctors, not even cops."

Frank and Maura both looked shocked about that last statement. Jane, who had dealt with US Marshals on witness protection detail was not surprised. It sounded exactly like all the marshals she'd ever met. It was annoying how closed mouthed they were about their protectees but she couldn't blame them. The lives of people, often people completely innocent of any crime, were in their hands and by extension, the chances of convicting some very dangerous criminals. If she were in their shoes she was sure she would be just as obsessed with secrecy.

"Well, that answers a lot of questions but it raises some others." Jane said, leaning her hip against the breakfast bar next to Bernie's chair.  
"What do you mean?" Frank asked. "What questions does it raise?"

Jane gave her brother a patient smile. He was becoming an excellent detective but there were still things he could learn from his big sister. She explained her statement, "If the motive was to eliminate the witness in some big criminal trial why tor…" glancing at Bernie she rethought her wording. "Why question the Cliftons? Why not just…eliminate the threat and get out of there?"

Glancing uncomfortably at Bernie, Frank offered, "Revenge?"

"Everything you told me about the crime scene suggests otherwise." With Bernie in the room she didn't want to go into specifics but based on what Frank had told her it was clear the unsubs were professionals trying to get information out of the Cliftons not some criminal out for revenge. She was glad when Frank and Maura both seemed to understand what she was saying without her having to explain it in front of the Clifton's daughter.

"That's a good point Jane," Maura chimed in. "So why do you think the Cliftons were…questioned instead of being eliminated immediately?"

Once again, Bernie surprised everyone by supplying the answer. "Because, neither of my parents was the witness under protection. I was." She began to cry. "They were looking for me! My parents were killed because they wouldn't tell them where I was!" She put her head on the counter top and began to sob.

Once again the room was enveloped in a stunned silence. This time Jane alone spoke, breaking the silence. Letting out a slow breath she said, "Okay, I was not expecting that! Sweetie, I promise we are going to do everything we can to protect you and your siblings but you need to tell us the whole story starting from the beginning." Seeing Frank was done with his lasagna she recommended they go to the living room where they could sit more comfortably.

When they were all seated, with Bernie sitting between Jane and Maura on the couch, Jane said, "Okay Bernie, just take your time and tell us everything starting from the beginning. How did you end up in WITSEC."

"It was a couple of years ago. We were living in Miami back then. I was sleeping over at my best friend, Sofia's house. It was the first time I ever got to spend the night away from home." Bernie paused, lost in the memory.

Frank leaned forward in his chair and Jane could tell he was about to prompt Bernie to continue but she held him off with a wave of her hand and a quick shake of her head. It was normal to guide a witness interview with prompts and questions but she sensed that Bernie needed to tell this story in her own time and in her own way.

With a little shake to clear the memory from her head she continued, "It was pretty late when we finally fell asleep but I didn't sleep very well. It was strange not being at home in my own bed. Anyway, I got up to get a glass of water. At first I thought I was the only one up but when I went downstairs I could hear voices coming from Sofia's Dad's den. I didn't mean to listen but they started shouting." Maura noticed that the girl had started to tremble and put an arm around her shoulders half expecting her to pull away but Bernie leaned into her, welcoming the comfort offered.

"I know I shouldn't have but I went over and peaked in the door. Mr. Fuentes, Sofia's Dad, was sitting at a desk and a friend of his I'd seen at their house before was standing next to him. They looked really mad and they were talking to some guy I'd never seen before and he looked really scared. Mr. Fuentes said something like 'You should know better than to try to cheat me on a deal' and the scared man he started crying saying how sorry he was and that it would never happen again. He said he only did it because his wife was so sick and he couldn't pay her hospital bills."

By this time all the adults in the room had a pretty good idea where Bernie's story was going. Frank hands were balled into fists and Jane was clenching her jaw so tightly it was a wonder her teeth didn't crack. She would have liked to have spared the girl the ordeal of retelling the tale but they needed to hear it from her. "It's okay sweetie, take your time." Jane reached over and patted the girl's thigh.

Taking in a breath and letting it out slowly she continued. "I remember, I thought everything was going to be okay because Mr. Fuentes told the man he was sorry that his wife was sick and he knew how expensive her treatment was but then he got this really scary look on his face and he said that he still couldn't let it slide. He said if he did then everyone would be trying to cheat him. Then he told his friend to take care of it …"

It was completely silent in the room, Maura, Jane, Frank, and even Nina, who was still on the phone, waiting in rapt attention for what ever Bernie might say next but the girl just sobbed and began shaking violently, the memory clearly difficult for her to relive.

A mothering instinct Maura wasn't even sure she had took over. She gathered the sobbing girl in her arms and rocked her. "It's okay sweetheart," she crooned into the girl's hair, "you're safe here. Jane I think we need to take a break."

Jane was about to protest that time was of the essence in a case like this and that the safety of the children was at stake when Bernie spoke up. "No, I'm okay. I can continue. I know it's important."

She pulled herself out of Maura's arms but held on to one of her hands for support. Maura stroked her hair with free hand.

"The other guy, Mr. Fuentes friend, he pulled a gun out of his jacket and shot the crying man. I froze for a moment, just long enough to see him start to roll up the carpet the crying man had been standing on with him in it. Then I ran, I don't think they heard me because no one followed me. I made it home, we didn't live far away. I told Mom and Dad what happened and they called the police. When I told the police what happened they said we had to get out of the house right away. I guess Sofia's Dad was some big crime boss down there and they'd been trying to put him in jail for a long time but no one was willing to testify against him or if they were they didn't live long enough to do it."

Bernie sighed and looked around at the adults in the room with her. "They arrested Mr. Fuentes and his friend the next morning and we went into WITSEC the very next day. His lawyers keep finding ways to delay the trial. My Dad thought the were buying time so they could find me and keep me from testifying like all the other witnesses. I guess he was right."

Bernie seemed to shrink into herself, looking in that moment much younger than she actually was. "I wish I'd just stayed in bed that night. Then I wouldn't have seen what I saw and we wouldn't have been in WITSEC and Mom & Dad would still be alive." She began crying again, not the wracking sobs but a nearly silent weeping that spoke even more loudly of her defeat and despair.

The room was silent while everyone pondered what Bernie had just told them. Jane was thinking about how movies and books tend to romanticize the witness protection program as some sort of chance to start life over in an exciting new place with a great new job. The reality was devastatingly different. One moment you're living your life and the next you're living in fear for your life, cut off from everything and everyone you know and love, wondering if and when your past was going to catch up with you.

She pulled Bernie to her chest and held her tightly rocking her like she was a small child. "This was not your fault baby girl." She spoke quietly into the girl's ear. "You didn't do anything wrong."

On the other side of her Maura slid closer and added her embrace to Jane's, silently rubbing her hand up and down Bernie's back in a comforting gesture. Over the bowed head she looked into Jane's dark eyes and saw her own helplessness mirrored there.

Eventually, the weeping subsided and Bernie pulled away from the double embrace giving Jane and Maura a watery smile. "You're going to catch them right?" she asked uncertainly, "whoever killed my parents, you'll get them wont you?"

Jane glanced first at Maura, then at Frank for support. As a cop, one of the first things you learned about dealing with the victims of crime and their families is never to make a promise to catch the bad guy. There simply weren't any guarantees. Finally, Jane answered with a promise she knew she could keep. "I will do everything in my power to find out who did this and bring them to justice and I will protect you and your brother and sister with my life."

Bernie nodded, she was a smart girl, she hadn't missed Jane's hedge on promising to find the people who killed her parents. She understood why Jane couldn't make such a promise. It made her feel better knowing that these people weren't willing to lie to her. In her short life she had encountered too many adults who thought it was okay to lie to children to "protect" them from a harsh truth.

After a moment of silence in which everyone took some time to process what had been said so far, Frank spoke up. "So I guess we'd better contact the Marshals' Service."

"Yeah," Jane replied, "I'm kind of surprised we haven't heard from them already." She turned to address Bernie, "Bernie, honey, do yo know the name of the agent in charge of your protection detail and how to contact him?"

"Yes, his name is John Grey, actually we were supposed to have one of our regular meetings with him this afternoon. That's why Paula and her mom were bringing me home. I was invited for the whole weekend but I had to be home for the meeting with John. I guess he had to cancel or you would have seen him at home."

"You had a scheduled meeting with the agent in charge of your case today?" Jane asked. The girl nodded and hair on the back of Jane's neck was stood up. She had a very bad feeling about this. She glanced first to her wife, who seemed oblivious to the implications, then to brother, who wore the same dark expression she was sure was on her own face.

Frank broke the silence, "You think Fuentes managed to turn a Federal Marshal? Has that ever happened before? How would he even find the right one?"

"Yes, I don't know, and that is an excellent question." Jane responded tersely.

"Oh my God!" Maura exclaimed, finally catching on to what the two siblings were thinking. Her big brain jumped into over drive working out the implications for the safety of the children. "Jane, a Federal Marshal will be able to access state and local government computer systems."

"Yes?" Jane replied drawing the word out not yet catching on to where Maura was headed with this line of reasoning.

"Including, the Department of Children and Families?" Maura said, glancing meaningfully at Bernie.

"Shit!" Jane exclaimed.

"Call the CWO. It's a Saturday. Maybe he hasn't had a chance to enter the info into the DCF mainframe yet." Frank said.

"I'm checking right now," Nina said from the phone, startling everyone in the room who had forgotten that she was still listening in to their conversation. Jane didn't bother to ask if Nina's access to the DCF database was strictly legal. "Good, I'm not seeing anything yet."

"Jane, he gave you his card didn't he?" Maura asked. "Call him now and tell him not to enter the kids into the database until we can sort this out!"

"On it." Jane responded, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"Wait!" Nina exclaimed from Frank's phone. "I'm not sure that's the best idea."

"Why not?" Frank asked, clearly baffled by his wife's response.

"Because, like Maura said, Federal Marshals have access to government databases including Massachusetts' DCF database."

There was a pause while the three adults sitting in the living room tried to puzzle out what Nina was saying.

"Damn, good catch Nina!" Jane praised her sister-in-law. She saw immediately what Nina was getting at. From the expressions on Frank and Maura's faces it was clear they hadn't put the pieces together yet so Jane explained. "If Marshal Grey is our guy the next logical move is for him to access the DCF database to see where the children are now. If he doesn't see anything he'll know we're on to him as the perp."

Expressions of confusion changed to expressions of concerned understanding. "But we can't let DCF put the kids' information in the database. It would lead the marshal right to us." Maura complained.

"That wasn't what I had in mind." Jane said, getting a determined look on her face that didn't bode well for Marshal Grey.

Frank smiled, "You want to use the DCF database to draw Grey into a trap."

Jane returned Frank's smile, "You're learning little brother. That's exactly what I want to do."


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's** **Note** : Hi guys, once again I have to apologize for the delay in getting this out. Part of the problem is the usual pre-Christmas craziness. However, I went on vacation last week to visit my folks and I thought I'd have plenty of time to write. Unfortunately, my Mom ended up in the hospital and I spent almost half my time at the hospital with her. Hospitals are not conducive to creativity, at least not in my experience!

Anyway, I had planned for this chapter to be much longer but, once again, I decided to post what I had rather than make you wait. Next chapter will have Jane and Maura interacting with all three of the kids some more (I hope).

Enjoy, and I still don't own Rizzoli and Isles. Maybe if I'm really good Santa will put them in my stocking next week ;-)

* * *

 _Frank smiled, "You want to use the DCF database to draw Grey into a trap."_

 _Jane returned Frank's smile, "You're learning little brother. That's exactly what I want to do."_

* * *

It was getting late but Jane was able to get a hold of Child Welfare Officer, Matt Torrey, and convince him to hold off on putting any information in the DCF database about the Clifton children until she got back with him. It wasn't exactly a tough sell since it was Saturday night and Matt hadn't planned to file the paperwork on the case until he got back to his office on Monday.

She didn't bother to fill him in on the plan, in part because she and Frank were still working out the details and in part because she knew he wouldn't have the authority to approve DCF's part in it.

When she got off the phone with Matt she turned to her wife and Bernie who were still sitting on the couch. It had been a long, emotionally exhausting day for Bernie and in spite of her best efforts to stay awake she was fading fast. "We've got some planning to do Bernie. Why don't you head up to bed?" Jane said softly.

"No! I want to know what your plan is." The girl insisted.

"And I promise to tell you. Tomorrow." Jane spoke more sternly now. "We've got some long days ahead of us and you need your rest to face them."

Maura, ran her hand over the girls hair gently. "Jane's right sweetheart. It's not just about catching whoever did this to your parents. We have to plan for their funerals, see if they left any instructions regarding you and your siblings in the case of their deaths. Jane and I will need your help with all of that and Bobby and Bryleigh are going to need you too. Jane and I are here for all three of you but they are so young it will be hard for them to understand what has happened to your parents. You are going to be an important stabilizing factor for them in this difficult time."

Maura spoke to Bernie as if she was much older than her 12 years but rather than being confused or upset by it Bernie seemed to appreciate it. She nodded her head only somewhat reluctantly. "Alright," she conceded getting up from the couch and heading towards the stairs. Turning back when she reached the bottom step to pin Jane with a determined look. "But tomorrow you're gonna tell me the whole plan." Without waiting for an answer from Jane she trudged up the stairs and into the bedroom she was now sharing with her little brother.

* * *

As soon as Bernie was gone Jane began to speak but at an abrupt gesture from Maura she stopped. A dark eyebrow rose and Jane gave Maura a look that was equal parts surprise and inquiry. It was highly unusual for her ever polite wife to interrupt anyone and Jane as curious as to what brought on this breach of etiquette. Maura waited until she heard the door to the guest bedroom close before she turned to Jane and Frank. "You don't actually plan to use that little girl as bait do you?" Maura's expression said she didn't really believe it but she was ready to fight Jane on it if it came to that.

"Of course, not. We'll use a decoy. We've got some female cops in narcotics that go under cover in high schools who aren't too much bigger than Bernie. If we put them in a hoodie and some baggie jeans to hide they're figures we should be able pull it off. We just need to keep their exposure to a minimum so Marshal Grey, assuming he is the unsub, doesn't have enough time to figure out it's not actually her."

Maura was mollified but also curious. "What, exactly, is your plan?"

Jane grinned, she loved putting together an operation to get the bad guy. Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a whoosh she laid out her plan for them. "Like Frank said, we use the DCF database to trap Grey. We put false information about the foster home the kids have been placed in. We use a BPD safe house and setup an undercover team to arrest him, when he tries to get to Bernie again."

Frank was nodding, "So we set up a couple of cops to act like the foster parents and, like you said, one of the narco under covers to take Bernie's place. That could work." He took a moment thinking through all the factor like Jane, and Korsak before he retired, had taught him. Trying to anticipate every scenario and any potential pitfalls. He was about to declare it a good plan when something occured to him. "But what about the younger kids?" he asked Jane. "I mean the baby is easy you just put a life like doll in a stroller but we don't have any cops who can pretend to be toddler."

"I know," Jane responded more subdued now, "I haven't quite figured that out yet. That's a good catch by the way." Despite her frustration with that aspect of the plan, she was proud of her brother for taking the time to think it through and his willingness to point out the flaws in her plan even though she was his boss and his big sister. He was turning into a first rate detective. It was important to her because she didn't want people thinking he hadn't earned his gold badge and his place in the homicide division.

Silence fell as they all pondered the dilemma.

Surprisingly, it was Maura who came up with the solution. "Why don't you just have the DCF database show that the two younger children were placed in a different foster home. That's not unusual. In fact, it is unusual for three children, even three children from the same family, to be placed in the same foster home."

"That's perfect Maura!" Jane exclaimed grabbing her wife and giving her an enthusiastic kiss. "Sometimes it really is handy to be married to a genius, I really should have thought of that myself."

"Sometimes?" Maura asked with mock offense and this time a honey blond eyebrow arched in surprise and inquiry.

"Yeah well, it's a lot less handy when we're playing Scrabble. Seriously, there ought to be a handicapping system like there is in golf when someone plays Scrabble with you. Your vocabulary is like twice as large as the average person's." The grin on Jane's face belied her frustrated tone she was quite proud of her wife's intelligence.

"At least," Maura shot back seriously. But she couldn't hold back a laugh and soon all three were participating in a much needed, tension relieving chuckle.

Jane's mood quickly became somber once again when she realized she and Frank had a lot of work to do coordinating the operation. With a sigh she turned to her brother and said, "Unfortunately, this means you and I need to get busy setting this up. We need to have everything in place by Monday at the latest. If there isn't any info in DCF's database about the kids' foster placement by then Grey is likely to get suspicious. I'm afraid it's going to be a long night for us."

"Let's get started then," Frank responded, rising from his chair.

Jane turned to Maura, "I'm going to assign a couple of uniforms to watch the house, including one inside until I get home. I'm sorry to leave you alone with the kids on their first night here, especially considering the trauma they've been through." She paused, apparently reconsidering her plan to go into work. "Maybe I should stay home, I can work from here.."

"Don't be ridiculous Jane," Maura cut her off. "This operation is going to require cooperation not only between multiple BPD divisions but also at least one outside organization. You know it will much easier to take care of all the coordination that needs to happen at BPD. You'll be distracted if you're here. Go set up this operation and make sure that little girl is safe. I'll take care of things here and if I need help I know a certain Italian mother who is eminently qualified and who would be happy to help."

Jane knew she was right on all counts. She got up from the couch pulling her wife with her. Pulling her into a tight hug she spoke quietly into her ear. "You're the best Maur, I love you. I'll try to make it home before breakfast."

Kissing her wife's cheek, Maura returned the sentiment, "You're not bad yourself Detective. Now get to work, I expect you home in time to help me figure out our new morning routine!"

With that, Jane followed Frank out into the night.


	13. Chapter 13

Author's Note: Once again I find myself apologizing for how long it took to get this update out. This time I don't have a "good" excuse so I wont even bother. I will say that I had planned for this update to be a bit longer but decided (once again) to give you what I had rather than make you wait. Besides this seemed like a good place to break up the chapters.

So, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I still don't own Rizzoli and Isles.

Last but not least, thanks for all the great comments. They make my day!

* * *

" _Don't be ridiculous Jane," Maura cut her off. "This operation is going to require cooperation not only between multiple BPD divisions but also at least one outside organization. You know it will much easier to take care of all the coordination that needs to happen at BPD. You'll be distracted if you're here. Go set up this operation and make sure that little girl is safe. I'll take care of things here and if I need help I know a certain Italian mother who is eminently qualified and who would be happy to help."_

 _Jane knew she was right on all counts. She got up from the couch pulling her wife with her. Pulling her into a tight hug she spoke quietly into her ear. "You're the best Maur, I love you. I'll try to make it home before breakfast."_

 _Kissing her wife's cheek, Maura returned the sentiment, "You're not bad yourself Detective. Now get to work, I expect you home to help me figure out our new morning routine!"_

 _With that, Jane followed Frank out into the night._

* * *

It was almost 3:00 in the morning when Jane made it home. Exhausted, she trudged up the stairs and into the master bedroom narrowly missing the baby's bassinet, which she had forgotten was there and could barely see in the darkened room. "Oh crap," she whispered startled but not wanting to wake Maura or Bryleigh.

"You may as well turn the light on sweetheart." Maura said sleepily from their bed. "I'm awake and it is unlikely to bother the baby. I just fed her and she fell right back to sleep. I don't think she'll wake again before 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning."

Jane slumped down on her side of the bed and reached over to turned on the bedside lamp. Toeing off her boots she twisted on the bed and took the hand Maura was holding out to her. "I'm sorry if I woke you up," she said, pulling her wife's hand to her lips and kissing her knuckles.

Smiling at the sweet gesture Maura gave Jane's hand an affectionate squeeze. "You didn't, I really did just finish feeding her about 5 minutes ago. I hadn't had a chance to go back to sleep yet."

With some effort Jane hauled herself up off the bed and headed toward the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"You look spent," Maura commented, "Did you and Frank get everything worked out?"

Stripped down to her tank top and boy shorts, Jane leaned in the doorway between the bedroom and the bathroom brushing her teeth. "I am and we did." she mumbled around her toothbrush. Ducking back into the bedroom she rinsed her mouth and placed her toothbrush back in the holder next to Maura's.

She slid into bed next to Maura sighing as her wife tucked herself up against her side Maura rested her head on Jane's shoulder. "God I'm tired. When did I get this old?" she complained. "Time was I could spend all night on a crime scene and the next three days following up leads and not feel this tired. Are you sure we can handle taking care of three kids, including an infant. Aren't you afraid I'll put the baby down somewhere and then not remember where? I'm not 25 anymore. Hell, I'm not even 35 anymore!"

There was a time when such a statement would have sent Maura into a maelstrom of worry that Jane was having second thoughts. Now she understood that it was just Jane's brand of self-deprecating humor. She was confident that Jane wanted a family as much as she did. So she ignored the latter part of Jane's statement and addressed the former. "I'm sure if you had been working a crime scene instead of the administrative details of setting up an undercover operation that you would not be nearly this tired. In fact, you'd probably be, what's the phrase, 'revved up'?"

Jane chuckled, her wife knew her well, "'Revved up' works and you're right. There's a lot I like about being the Homicide Lieutenant but 'administrative details' are nowhere on the list."

"Let's get some sleep while we can sweetheart. I can wait until the morning to hear the details of the operation when you tell Bernie." She leaned up and gave her wife a quick kiss on the lips then snuggled back into her side.

Jane reached over to turn off the lamp and wrapped both arms around her wife. In moments they both drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Roughly three hours later Jane woke abruptly from a sound sleep but couldn't figure out what had awoken her. The alarm wasn't going off and she could feel Maura's warm body still tucked against her side. The steady rise and fall of her wife's chest told her Maura was still asleep. Reluctant to rise from the warmth and comfort of her bed she lay quietly, eyes closed, and listened for any sound that might help her figure out what had awoken her.

She heard nothing but rather felt the eerie sensation of being watched. Her body tensed, ready to spring into action if necessary. She opened her eyes ever so slightly, hoping not to alert who ever might have snuck into their home and worse yet into their bedroom to the fact that she was awake and aware of their presence.

The sight that met her confused her momentarily until memories of the previous day returned and she relaxed. Staring back at her in almost complete silence, was Bobby, his thumb stuck in his mouth and a stuffed bear under his arm.

"Hey Bud," Jane greeted him glancing at the clock. "It's early, can't you sleep?"

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" Bobby asked his big brown eyes held confusion and maybe just a hint of fear. Then looking around the room he asked, "Where's this?"

Jane felt Maura's arm tighten around her and looked down into her eyes. She saw the same sadness she was sure was reflected in her own eyes. Sighing, Jane scooted up on the bed so she was sitting up with her back against the headboard. Maura followed suit.

"Come here Bobby," Jane gestured to the boy, making space for him between herself and her wife. The boy hesitated, unsure of the whole situation. "It's okay buddy, you're safe here. Maura and I are going to take care of you."

Placing his teddy bear on the bed Bobby used both hands to pull himself up on it. Careful to take it slowly so as not to startle him, Jane picked him up and sat him on the bed between Maura and herself.

"Where's Mommy and Daddy?" He asked again once he was settled.

Jane glanced at Maura, at a loss, they had tried to explain to him yesterday what had happened to his parents but apparently he didn't remember or hadn't understood.

Running her fingers through his short brown locks Maura asked, "Sweetheart, do you remember what happened yesterday at your house?"

Bobby considered the question for a moment then his lower lip began to quiver and his eyes filled with tears. "Da bad men come to our house. One of dem grabbed me and put my in my room. Daddy said it was okay an to stay in my room but I heard shouting an Mommy was crying. Den I heard da bad men leave da house. I waited but Mommy and Daddy didn't come to get me so I went to look for dem. I found dem but dey was sleepin an I couldn't wake dem up."

By the time he finished telling them what he remembered both Jane and Maura had tears streaming down their cheeks. Maura wrapped her arms around the boy, rocking him gently. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that baby boy," she whispered into his ear.

Bobby sniffled and asked again, "Where's Mommy and Daddy now?" Clearly, he was having a hard time understanding that his parents weren't just sleeping when he found them.

Then Jane remembered what Bernie had told him about his pet rabbit and heaven. "Don't you remember what Bernie told you about your parents going to heaven like your pet rabbit, Hippity?"

"Oh yeah," he said dejectedly, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I forgot. I don't want dem to be in heaven. I want dem to be here wif us."

His plaintive cry broke their hearts into a million jagged pieces and Maura held him tighter as Jane placed a tearful kiss on top of his head. "I know baby boy," Jane said, her lips still brushing against his hair. "I wish I could make that happen for you."

The three of them sat in heavy silence, Maura holding Bobby while Jane ran her fingers through his hair occasionally pressing her lips to his head.

The quiet moment was interrupted by a blood curdling scream. "Bobby! Bobby's gone! Oh my God they took him. Help me! Help me find him, please!"

Jane flew out of bed and down the hall to the room Bobby was sharing with his big sister. She threw open the door and ran over to the bed where Bernie had clearly just awoken to find her brother gone. It was obvious she wasn't fully awake and coherent or she would have realized that it would make no sense for someone to take her brother when she was the one they were after.

Jane, understanding that the girl had been through a lot and wasn't thinking clearly didn't bother trying to reason with her. She just kept repeating, "He's okay, Bobby's okay, he's in our room, come see. He's fine I promise."

Bernie got shakily out of bed and followed Jane out of the room. She was so distressed she didn't even think about trying to shake off the hand Jane rested on her trembling shoulder.

When they entered the master bedroom, Bobby was sitting on Maura's lap where he had climbed because Bernie's screams had frightened him. "See," Jane said kindly, "he's just fine. Aren't you buddy?"

The boy nodded and relaxed the death grip he had on Maura's arm. "Are you okay Bewnie? You was scweamin weally loud."

Bernie walked to the side of the bed and looked to Maura for permission to join them. Maura nodded her assent and she climbed on the bed and sat cross-legged facing them. "I'm okay baby brother. I just...had a bad dream." It wasn't the exact truth but she figured it was better than telling a three year old that she thought some psycho murderer had kidnapped him. There was no need to scare him witless.

Jane was about to join the other three on the bed when a burbling from the bassinet let them know that Bryleigh was awake. Jane walked over to her and picked her up. "Hey sweet girl did we wake you up or was it something else?" A quick sniff of the baby's bottom gave her the answer. "Whew! Definitely something else." Looking over at the group on the bed who were all looking back at her with varying levels of amusement, Jane said, "We'll be back in a moment. We have a bit of a situation to take care of."

With that she slipped into the bathroom. In moments they heard her exclaim, "Oh my God! How can someone so cute and cuddly make some thing so nasty and stinky!"

Shortly they were back in the bedroom joining the others on the bed. "It is so your turn next time!" She told Maura as she positioned herself beside Bobby with her back against the headboard and Bryleigh sitting on her lap, playing with her hair. Looking at everyone on the bed Jane chuckled, "Okay, I'm starting to see why we needed a king-sized bed." Maura just smiled at her in response. Jane had fought her on buying a king-size bed when she had redecorated their bedroom shortly after they were married. She hadn't mentioned it at the time but scenes like this were exactly what she was thinking of at the time.

The moment of levity was broken by Bernie. "So what are you doing to catch the people who killed my parents?" She asked pinning Jane with a determined stare. It occurred to Jane that Bernie would make an excellent interrogator one day. If she was so inclined.

Before she answered, Jane glanced at Bobby then shrugged. The boy was much too young to understand the conversation so she saw no harm in talking in front of him. "Right, okay, so here's the deal. We've set up an under cover operation to lure Marshal Grey, assuming he's our guy, into making another attempt on your life so we can catch him in the act."

"We've set up three cops, two to act as your foster parents and one to be you. She's in the Narcotics Division and she normally works undercover in high schools so she's pretty young looking but it's not a great match so we'll have to keep her dressed in oversized clothes with hoodies and such to hide her face. Frank is going to be going undercover as your foster father".

"What does Nina think about that?" Maura interrupted her wife.

Jane gave her a wry grin. "She doesn't like it but she's a cop, she get's it. It's part of the job. Plus, if the operation is successful it could really help his career."

"Who's Nina?" Bernie asked with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Nina is our computer expert in the Homicide Division," Jane responded. "She's also Frank's wife. His very pregnant wife."

"Ah, got it. She was the one on the phone with us last night, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so you're gonna set up this undercover operation, how is Marshal Gray supposed to know where to find me? I mean fake me." Bernie wanted to know.

"Good question, you're a very bright young lady." Maura praised the girl for looking at the plan with a critical eye and pointing out a perceived problem with it. Bernie blushed and smiled just a little at the praise.

"Remember last night we said that members of the Marshal Service have access to computer systems at all levels of government?" Jane asked. Bernie nodded. "Well I called a contact in DCF and convinced them to enter a false record for you and your siblings. It will have all the info for our under cover op. Nina is going to set up a program to notify us if anyone accesses the file. That will give us a heads up that Grey has taken the bait and is on his way. It will also record the information so we can track it back to him and use it at trial. If it comes to that."

Jane really hoped it wouldn't come to that. She hoped that if and when they caught Grey he would confess and they'd be able to avoid a trial all together. She also hoped he'd cooperate in prosecuting the man who hired him to take out Bernie in the first place. Jane had looked into Manuel "Manny the Man" Fuentes when she and Frank had gone in to the office to set up the undercover op. To say he was a bad guy was the understatement of the century. Drugs, gambling, human trafficking, you name it. If there was a dark and depraved way to make money off of another human being's suffering he was into it. And, as the crime Bernie witnessed attested, he wasn't afraid to use murder as a tool to protect his interests.

Jane knew getting Grey to roll over on such a guy was a long shot. Ironically, she knew they would probably have to offer him a place in WITSEC. She knew Bernie would be opposed to that and she couldn't blame her but if there was any way to take the heat off of the girl and put it onto the traitorous US Marshal then Jane was all for it. Fortunately, that was a conversation that could wait for later.

Bernie had been quiet for while, apparently considering the plan.

"So what do you think?" Jane asked.

Bernie looked at her with that way she had of seeming much older than 12 years old. "If you're right, and Marshal Grey is behind my parents murder, then I think it will work."

"Do you think Jane is wrong about who is behind the murder?" Maura asked curious about how the girl had worded her answer.

"No," Bernie shook her head. "I think she's right but my Dad, he loved watching true crime shows. We used to do it together, even though my Mom said I was too young. Anyway, he always said a lot of crimes became cold cases because the cops focused all their attention on one suspect and did consider any other possibilities. He always said there wasn't any reason they couldn't look into more than one suspect until they were absolutely sure they had the right suspect. I just want to be sure we aren't doing that, ya know?"

Jane was momentarily speechless. She recovered with a quick shake of her head and smiled at Bernie. "I think you have a future as a detective if you ever want to be a cop," she said. "You're right, we don't want to focus on Marshal Grey to the exclusion of all other possibilities. I think we should know pretty soon whether he's our guy or not and if it turns out he's not then we'll start looking into other possibilities, like whether Fuentes has any known associates in the Boston area or even if the crime is unrelated to Fuentes, although I think that is a long shot. Do you have any other questions about the plan?"

Once again, the girl blushed at the compliment and shook her head. "Nah, I think it's a good plan. I hope it works."

"Good, everything goes into effect tomorrow. We needed a day to get all our ducks in a row and since today is Sunday it wont look suspicious if your names don't appear in the DCF database until tomorrow. That being the case, I think the five of us need to take a day to just…breathe and adjust to our new circumstances. A lot happened yesterday and you guys haven't had a chance to really process it."

"That's an excellent idea sweetheart," Maura agreed. "Why don't we go downstairs and get some breakfast. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, maybe we could take a walk in the park and later we can see about getting you three settled in here a bit more permanently. We can make a list of whatever you might need and go shopping."

Jane couldn't hide her grin, making lists and shopping, two of her wife's favorite things. She leaned over and gave Maura a quick kiss, "Sounds like a plan." Turning to Bernie and Bobby she asked, "What would you guys like for breakfast, eggs, pancakes, waffles? You name it and we will make it happen. I might even be talked into making some of my mother's famous bunny pancakes."


	14. Chapter 14

Author's note: Woohoo, look who finally got around to posting another update. This one is just Jane and Maura spending a day with the kids. Next update they will be back to trying to catch the killer. Enjoy this chapter.

Just in case you've forgotten, I don't own Rizzoli or Isles and I make no money off this story.

* * *

" _Good, everything goes into effect tomorrow. We needed a day to get all our ducks in a row and since today is Sunday it wont look suspicious if your names don't appear in the DCF database until tomorrow. That being the case, I think the five of us need to take a day to just…breathe and adjust to our new circumstances. A lot happened yesterday and you guys haven't had a chance to really process it."_

" _That's an excellent idea sweetheart," Maura agreed. "Why don't we go downstairs and get some breakfast. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, maybe we could take a walk in the park and later we can see about getting you three settled in here a bit more permanently . We can make a list of whatever you might need and go shopping."_

 _Jane couldn't hide her grin, making lists and shopping, two of her wife's favorite things. She leaned over and gave Maura a quick kiss, "Sounds like a plan." Turning to Bernie and Bobby she asked, "What would you guys like for breakfast, eggs, pancakes, waffles? You name it and we will make it happen."_

* * *

They all trundled downstairs to the kitchen. Bobby had asked for pancakes and Bernie, not really caring one way or another, had agreed. Jane made her mother's famous bunny pancakes, making her wife promise not to tell her mother. "After all the crap I gave her the last time she made them for me I'll never hear the end of it if she finds out I made them for our kids."

Maura promised, too surprised and pleased by the fact that Jane had referred to the children as "our kids", to argue or even tease her wife.

Bobby was so enamored of his bunny pancakes that Bernie asked if Jane could show her how to do it. She didn't say she wanted to know so she could make them for Bobby after they left Jane and Maura's care. Bernie was old enough to understand what temporary foster care meant. She liked Jane and Maura and appreciated the fact that they hadn't treated her like a little girl who was too young to understand what was going on but she knew there were no guarantees concerning their future.

Unaware of the youngster's concerns, Jane was happy to show her how to make bunny pancakes as well as a few others her mother had taught her. Maura and Bobby proved to be appreciative test subjects for the girl's initial attempts.

When they had finished breakfast and cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, they all headed upstairs to change out of their pajamas. Maura took Bryleigh into the master bathroom to clean her up and change her into one of the new outfits they had purchased at Walmart the day before.

Jane offered to help Bobby get changed but Bernie said she could handle it so instead Jane quickly got changed then set about putting together a picnic lunch for their trip to the park. It wasn't anything fancy just some chips, sandwiches, water and juice to drink, and some left over brownies Angela had made for their dinner the day before. The one that got interrupted by the call to the crime scene. _Was that just yesterday? A lot has happened in a short time,_ Jane thought.

She packed all of the food into a large cooler. When she was done with that she grabbed a frisbee and a whiffle ball and bat she'd had since she was a kid. She packed everything into the back of her cruiser, once again thinking they were going to need a bigger car. An SUV she thought, I refuse to drive a minivan.

By the time she finished packing the car, Bernie and Bobby were waiting in the kitchen and Maura and Bryleigh were just coming downstairs.

"Is everyone ready?" she asked.

"Not yet, we have to make a list of things the children are going to need before we go shopping," Maura explained in a tone that said Jane really should know better.

"Of course sweetheart. I meant is everyone ready to make their list." Jane responded as if she hadn't completely forgotten that they were going shopping before they went to the park.

Maura narrowed her eyes at her spouse suspiciously but let it drop. She grabbed her iPad and they all went into the living room. With Bernie's help they soon had a fairly comprehensive list of things they would need assuming they wouldn't be allowed back in their home for a few days. It included school supplies and clothes for her, play clothes for Bobby and Bryleigh, and some toys, games, and activities she knew her siblings liked. With the exception of a few Tonga Trucks and GI Joe toys for when TJ visited Jane and Maura's house was woefully lacking in those kinds of things.

They all piled in the car with Bernie once again wedged between her siblings' car seats in the back. This time Maura insisted on shopping at a high end boutique that had a high end line of children's clothes. Maura's eyes lit up at the shelves and racks of high quality children's clothing and Jane feared they might not make it to the park. If Maura followed her normal routine of looking at every option and carefully assessing fit, fabric, quality, color, etc. for all three children they would be here all day and they still had to shop for school supplies, toys and such.

She needn't have worried. To Jane's amusement, all three children were as fidgety as she was when it came to clothes shopping. Maura was eventually forced to shorten her normal routine. She knew all the clothes in this shop were of excellent quality so she let Bernie pick what suited her and grabbed a few outfits for the two younger children.

As they were heading out the door she caught the smirk on Jane's face. "I don't know what you find so amusing," she said archly to Jane. "We've just proven what I always said. You are as fidgety as a toddler when we go clothes shopping!"

Jane's expression turned miffed but her snarky reply was cut off by a snort from Bernie. Smiling fondly at the tween Jane said, "Don't pretend you weren't just as eager to be done as the rest of us."

"Oh, I was," Bernie admitted. "You guys just sounded exactly like my parents." As soon as the words were out of her mouth her face fell and tears welled in her eyes. "Oh my God, I forgot. It's only been a day and just for a moment I forgot. I'm a terrible daughter!" She bawled.

Maura, handed the bags she was carrying to Jane and gathered the stricken child in her arms. "No sweetheart, no. That's perfectly normal. It's how we function after a terrible tragedy like you've just experienced. The brain compartmentalizes the grief so you can go about your daily business but then something reminds you and all of the sudden you are overwhelmed."

She had been holding Bernie close and rubbing her back but she gently pushed her back and held her at arms length. Looking her in the eye Maura said, "You mustn't feel badly for those times when your parents aren't at the forefront of your thoughts. You also shouldn't fight it when the memories return and your grief overwhelms you. Allow yourself to feel it and to cry, or scream, or do whatever you need to push through it."

Bernie nodded at her and started crying again. Maura pulled her back into her arms and said quietly "I know it's hard to believe now but eventually you will be able to think of your parents with out being overwhelmed by sadness."

While Maura was comforting Bernie, Jane had taken the younger children and their purchase and loaded them in the car. As she was buckling Bobby into his booster seat he asked, "is Bewnie okay?".

Jane considered how to answer the toddler and decided the truth was the way to go. "Yeah bud, she just misses your parents."

"Me too," the boy responded getting teary-eyed. "I wish they didn't had to go ta heaven wif Hoppity."

Tears welled in Jane's eyes as well and she ran her fingers through the boy's hair and kissed his forehead. "Me too baby, me too."

Maura and Bernie approached just as she was closing the trunk of her cruiser. She knew there was nothing more she could say to comfort the grieving girl so she simply gave her a quick but tight hug and kissed the top of her head. Then all three of them got into the car and they headed back to Walmart to pick up the other items on their list. Maura had agreed, reluctantly, that the big block store would have everything they needed and that it would be of sufficient, if not the best, quality for their needs.

The trip to Walmart was much more enjoyable for everyone, except possibly Maura. Bobby looked in wonder at the aisles full of action figures, lego sets, balls, stuffed animals and so much more. "I can pick tree of them?" he asked not believing his good fortune. "Any ones I want?"

"Yup," Jane responded at the same time Maura said "As long as they are age appropriate." Jane smiled at her wife. Leave it to Maura to think of such considerations.

Surprisingly, considering the number of choices, Bobby had chosen his three new toys in less than 15 minutes. It took Maura longer than that to choose three toys for Bryleigh and some activity books for Bobby.

Bernie seemed almost as excited to pick out school supplies, taking her time looking at all the different options for binders, notebooks, pens and pencils and a backpack to put everything in. When she asked Jane if there was any way she could get her school issued tablet from their house, Maura insisted they go over to the electronics department and replace it with a top of the line model. "Seriously?" Bernie practically squealed when she saw the one Maura was looking at. Jane knew it was way more than what the youngster needed for her school work but this was one time she didn't intend to argue with Maura over cost. All three of the children deserved to have something good happen to them after the trauma they'd been through.

Before too long they were done with their shopping and on their way to the park.

When they arrived at the park Maura noticed they had a swing set with an infant seat so she took Bryleigh and Bobby over to play on it while Jane and Bernie set up their picnic. They laid out an old blanket next to a huge oak tree and put the cooler with the food on it, leaving the food inside for now but pulling out plates and napkins. "Why aren't we using paper plates and plastic cups and utensils?" Bernie asked with a puzzled expression.

"Because my wife is all about saving the environment," Jane responded smiling fondly over at the swing set where Maura was pushing Bryleigh on the swings and Bobby was slipping down the slide over and over laughing every time he got to the bottom.

"It doesn't seem right for him to be laughing just a day after our parents were murdered," Bernie commented looking more concerned than angry with her brother.

"He's so young," Jane responded. "I don't think he really understands what has happened. I think that's probably a good thing, don't you?"

"Yeah, I guess. It just seems wrong that he's not more upset. Like our parents didn't matter to him at all."

"First, he is upset. He told me so when you were talking to Maura earlier. Second, I think children that age, most of them anyway, are not wired to be sad all the time."

"I guess." Bernie's expression was still concerned and Jane wondered if, perhaps, Bobby wasn't the only one she was thinking about.

"Bernie, there's something I want you to know." Jane took the girl's hand in her own, holding it lightly and waited until she looked up. "It's good for you to grieve, you don't want to try to hold that in. Take it from someone who's always tried to keep negative feelings inside. When you do that, it will back up on you and eventually it will explode, usually at the worst possible time. So when that sadness comes let it, cry, throw things, heck curl up in a ball and hide under the covers if helps you feel better.

But understand that it's also normal and perfectly okay if sometimes something makes you smile or laugh. As time goes by, that's going to happen more and more often and I promise you, your Mom and Dad want that for you. I'm not saying you'll ever completely get over losing them but you'll learn to live with it and it won't always hurt as much as it does now.

And one more thing, you can always talk to Maura and I about how you're feeling and if you're not comfortable doing that or if you feel like you need more help, we can find a professional for you to talk to."

Silent tears flowed down Bernie's cheeks and she nodded once deliberately. "Okay, thanks Jane." She gave the detective a watery smile and quick hug. "I think I'm going to go see if Bobby wants me to push him on the swings."

"I think that's a great idea," Jane said, giving Bernie's hand a quick squeeze before releasing it.

* * *

Jane sat on their picnic blanket with her back against the oak tree and her legs stretched out in front of her, watching Maura push Bryleigh in the baby seat while Bernie pushed her little brother on the regular swing. The two younger children were laughing and Bobby kept screaming "Hiya Bewnie, hiya!".

Bernie wasn't laughing but she did look much more relaxed and occasionally she allowed an affectionate smile to cross her face at her brother's antics.

When Bobby convinced his big sister to join him on the slide, Maura pulled the baby out of the baby seat and walked over to where Jane was sitting. "May we join you?" she asked her wife.

"Always," Jane replied, making room for them between her legs.

Maura leaned back and sighed contentedly. Jane wrapped her arms around them both and Maura released her hold on Bryleigh and ran her hands lightly up and down Jane's thighs before letting them come to rest on her knees.

"What were you and Bernie talking about?" She asked her wife. "It looked like a pretty serious conversation.

Jane told Maura what Bernie had said and how she had responded.

"I think you handled that very well, sweetheart," Maura replied. "You're really good at this parenting thing."

"I hope you're right," Jane said. "After everything they've been through I just want to do right by these kids. They're really great kids. Their parents did a great job raising them under really difficult circumstances and I want to honor their sacrifice."

"We will." Maura said it with such confidence and conviction that Jane couldn't help but believe her. After all, her wife couldn't lie.

Bobby came running over to them with his big sister following behind him. "I'm stahvin," he said dramatically. "Can we eat now?"

"You got it bud," Jane replied releasing Maura and Bryleigh and reaching for the cooler with the food in it. Maura sat the baby on the blanket beside her and gave her a pacifier and a toy to play with. She'd been fed just before they left so Maura should have just enough time to eat her own lunch before she needed to feed Bryleigh her's. Next she handed out plates and napkins.

Jane pulled out a variety of drinks and sat them in the middle of the blanket letting everyone choose whatever they wanted. Then she opened a bag of potato chips and a bag of Cheetos and sat them on the center of the blanket as well so everyone could help themselves. In retrospect that turned out not to be the best idea since Bobby made a bit of a mess with the Cheetos getting orange cheese all over his hands, face, clothes and the blanket where he sat. Jane took a live and learn attitude about it.

"Okay, for sandwiches we have tuna on rye, turkey and Swiss on whole wheat, and of course no picnic would be complete without peanut butter and fluff on white bread," Jane presented them with all the options.

"What's fluff?" Bobby asked, his forehead wrinkling in the most adorable way.

"What's fluff?!" Jane repeated his question with exaggerated shock. "You don't know what fluff is?" she asked looking first at Bobby then at Bernie to see if she knew. Both children shook their heads. "Why fluff is only the single best thing to ever happen to peanut butter and white bread, that's what fluff is, way better than jelly."

Laughing at her wife Maura said, "Jane's exaggerating, but only a little bit. Peanut butter and fluff sandwiches really are quite good. Why don't you cut one into fourths so we can all give it a try then the children can decide if they want that or something else."

Jane did as Maura suggested and the children agreed the combination was very tasty. Bobby decided he wanted the PB&F, while Bernie asked if she could have half a PB&F and half of a tuna sandwich. Jane took the other halves of Bernie's sandwiches and Maura had one of the turkey sandwiches. The leftovers went back into the cooler for lunch the next day.

* * *

After lunch they sat for a while to let their food digest. Maura fed the baby while the other three lay on their backs and called out the different shapes they saw in the clouds. That only lasted about 15 minutes before Bobby got restless so Jane suggested the play with the frisbee for a while.

This time Maura stayed on the blanket with Bryleigh, who was enjoying a post-lunch nap. She sat lightly rubbing the baby belly and watching as Jane patiently showed Bobby and Bernie how to throw a frisbee. Bernie was a quick study but Bobby needed to be shown repeatedly and Jane spent as much time chasing down his wild throws as she did doing anything else. Maura was impressed with Jane's seemingly infinite patience with the boy.

To his credit, Bobby didn't get frustrated and give up like many children his age would have but kept with it until he could make the frisbee fly pretty straight if not very far.

After frisbee, Jane pushed Bobby on the swings for a while and Bernie asked if it was okay for her to take walk around the small pond in the park. Jane was a little reluctant considering everything that was going on but she understood that Bernie needed a little time to herself to process everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. The pond was very small and Jane could see the entire shore line from their picnic spot so she decided to let Bernie go. "Alright, just stay where we can see you okay?" She didn't mention why she wanted Bernie to stay in sight. The girl was smart enough to figure that out on her own.

Bernie nodded. "Okay", she said and headed off at a leisurely pace stopping occasionally to examine a leaf or pick up a rock and throw it into the pond.

When she returned about 20 minutes later. They decided to call it a day and began to pack everything up and head back to the car.

By the time they got home, all three children were fast asleep in the back seat.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's note: Hi all, here's another update. I was hoping to have a bit more from you but I've been busier than usual. I figured I'd give you what I have rather than making you wait. As a reader that's always my preference.

Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. They always make my day.

I haven't mentioned it in a while so I will remind you that I don't work with a beta. All mistakes are mine. Please feel free to point out any grammatical or spelling errors. It seems no matter how many times I reread a chapter I always find more errors!

Enjoy!

* * *

 _After frisbee, Jane pushed Bobby on the swings for a while and Bernie asked if it was okay for her to take walk around the small pond in the park. Jane was a little reluctant considering everything that was going on but she understood that Bernie needed a little time to herself to process everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. The pond was very small and Jane could see the entire shore line from their picnic spot so she decided to let Bernie go. "Alright, just stay where we can see you okay?" She didn't mention why she wanted Bernie to stay in sight. The girl was smart enough to figure that out on her own._

 _Bernie nodded. "Okay", she said and headed off at a leisurely pace stopping occasionally to examine a leaf or pick up a rock and throw it into the pond._

 _When she returned about 20 minutes later. They decided to call it a day and began to pack everything up and head back to the car._

 _By the time they got home, all three children were fast asleep in the back seat._

* * *

Bernie loved school but she wasn't overly upset the next day when Jane told her she'd have to stay home until her parents' murder was caught. The crime was big news on all the local stations and she wasn't ready to face either the sympathy or the curiosity of her classmates. _Thank God they don't know the whole story,_ she thought. _They don't know about WITSEC. They don't know my parents were killed protecting me._

She had asked if her friend, Paula could come over and bring her school assignments. Jane and Maura had agreed and Maura had called Anna Erickson to ask if she would be willing to bring her daughter by after school. Anna had agreed, while not so subtly pumping Maura for information about the case. Maura had politely but firmly told the woman she couldn't comment on an open investigation. It was true but Maura was glad she couldn't be more specific. She suspected if Anna Erickson had any idea of the motive for the murders, she wouldn't let her daughter anywhere near Bernie and right at the moment Bernie needed a friend. Besides, Maura had every confidence in her wife's ability to keep them all safe.

Jane entered the kitchen just as Maura hung up the phone. "Was that Mrs. Erickson? Is Paula going to come by this afternoon?"

"Yes and yes," Maura responded. "She was asking about the case."

"I assume you told her you couldn't tell her anything. Bet she loved that, there goes her chance to one up all the other parents in the PTA by having inside knowledge of the investigation." Jane smirked at her wife.

"Jane," Maura chided her. "She took it quite well."

"Uh huh," Jane grunted skeptically.

"I have to call my office next," Maura announced, effectively changing the topic.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take time off too or instead?" Jane asked.

"No, there's almost no way Marshal Grey, or whoever the perpetrator is, could know where the children are and you've assigned extra patrols in the neighborhood just in case. Besides, it's not like I can work on this case. Since we are fostering the children it would be a conflict of interest. Kent is more than capable of running the morgue while I'm out. It will give me a chance to bond with the children and look into child care for Bobby and Bryleigh for when I do go back to work. Plus…" She hesitated.

Jane looked up from the travel mug of coffee she had been preparing. "Plus what?" she asked.

Maura looked uncomfortable, "Well, I was wondering if we should be planning a funeral service for the Cliffords, I mean the Kinneys." That was another thing, Bernie had finally told them her family's real last name. They could have asked someone from the Federal Witness Protection Program but that would have tipped their hand if Marshal Grey really was the murderer. They wanted him to believe that Bernie had kept quiet about WITSEC.

"I know we can't search for relatives until we solve this crime, or at least clear Marshal Grey but Bernie seems pretty certain that neither of her parents had any living relatives. Not any close ones anyway."

Jane thought about it for a while, "I don't know, do you think it would be better for the kids not to wait? I think if I were in their shoes I'd want to get it done sooner rather than later, I wouldn't want it hanging over my head, ya know?"

"Yes, I know," Maura agreed. "I'll look for an opportunity to bring it up with Bernie. If the time seems right I'll find out if she'd like us to handle it or if she would like to be involved." Maura shook her head sadly "I can't imagine being that age and having to worry about planning a funeral, especially my parents funeral."

Jane teared up for a moment then gave herself a shake. "All we can do is be there for her to support her. We'll get her through this Maura, we'll get them all through this."

With that she headed for the foyer and retrieved her gun and badge from the gun safe in the closet there. Maura had followed her out. Jane leaned down and gave her wife a quick but ardent kiss on the lips. "I'd better get going. There's a lot of moving parts to the operation and I want to make sure we've got all our ducks in a row before we put it in motion."

"Good luck," Maura said, then grabbed Jane's arm as she turned to go. Jane turned back with a curious expression. "Catch this guy Jane, so we all can get on with our lives."

Jane put her hand over Maura's and gave it a squeeze. "That's my plan."

* * *

When Jane arrived at the BPD, she went immediately to the BRIC where Nina was typing away at her computer. "Are Frank, Riley, and Detective Carlson set up in the house we rented for the sting?"

Over Frank's objections Jane had asked Narcotics for the loan of two detectives, Detective Carlson who would be the stand in for Bernie and Detective Riley Cooper who would be Frank's wife in the undercover operation.

" _Detective Cooper!? Are you kidding?" Frank had asked incredulous. "After what she pulled with Frost and I? Not to mention Nina knows all about that incident. How do you think she's going to feel about me going under cover with someone I've dated? You know she's got those crazy pregnancy hormones messing with her emotions!"_

" _First, other than myself there are currently no female detectives in Homicide. Even if it weren't a conflict of interest, since Maura and I are fostering Bernie and her siblings, I refuse to go undercover as your wife, that is just too creepy," Jane explained with a bit of a shudder._

" _Second, neither you nor Detective Carlson have anywhere near as much undercover experience as Riley does. I don't have to tell you how important this operation is, in general and for me personally. I want someone out there who knows their stuff. You might want to take this opportunity to learn a thing or two about undercover work from someone who's been there," she continued reasonably._

" _And third, I already spoke to Nina about it and she understands and agrees with my reasons for choosing Riley for the op. She accepted it like the excellent cop she is. You should do the same." Jane finished with a look that was all Sergeant Detective Rizzoli and no big sister Jane._

Nina looked up from the her computer screen. "Yeah, based on Riley's recommendation they decided to go in last night and take some time getting things set up and getting settled in. She said they didn't want to give any indication to the unsub that they hadn't been living there for a while if, or more likely when, he decided to surveil the place prior to pulling off his attack."

"Excellent, I knew Riley was a good choice for this op." Jane felt the tightness in her chest ease ever so slightly. As much as she wanted to catch this guy, it was still her little brother out there putting his life on the line to get it done. Jane couldn't help but feel guilty that she wasn't out there with him to keep him safe.

"What about the fake report in the DCF database?" she asked.

"I was just about to call their tech rep to set it up. I didn't think you'd want it in their system too early in the morning. It might look suspicious if it showed up before the office was even open," Nina replied.

"Good thinking Nina!" Jane praised the other woman's foresight.

"And before you ask," Nina said before Jane could get another question out. "I've already got the sniffer program set up on the DCF database to let me know if/when someone accesses the database searching for information on the Clifford children. I haven't seen anything yet but I didn't get it in place until yesterday evening so it's possible Marshal Grey, assuming he's our guy, may have tried to access the file before then. But like you said, since the murders occurred on the weekend it won't look too suspicious if there's nothing in the system until today."

"That's great NIna thanks."

"Oh and one more thing, my sniffer program will tell us if someone tries to access the file through official or unofficial means. That way, if we're wrong and Marshal Grey isn't our guy or if he is but doesn't want any record of his searching the system we'll still know if someone accesses the file."

Jane grinned at her sister-in-law, "You know, I'm pretty sure the smartest thing my little brother ever did was asking you to marry him."

Nina blushed and said, "Yeah well, I feel pretty lucky that he asked, he really is one of the best men I know."

Jane smiled back, "He is but don't tell him I said so. It would completely ruin the whole big sister little brother dynamic." Winking she head for the door. "I'll be in my office, please let me know as soon as you see anything on the DCF database."

"Will do," Nina responded returning to her work on the computer.

As soon as Jane got to her desk she called Frank to see how things were going at the house they had rented for the undercover operation. She had originally planned to use one of the safe houses BPD used for housing protected witnesses long term or for various undercover operations but she thought better of it when she remembered their primary suspect was a federal agent who might have access to the BPD database. If he suspected a setup and went looking for information on the house in their database she didn't want him to find anything.

"Hey little brother, how's everything with your new wife and family going? You're not looking for a divorce lawyer yet are you?" She couldn't resist teasing him.

"Ha, ha, very funny Jane." Frank deadpanned. "Riley, Claire, and I are getting along just fine. You were right, Riley really knows her stuff when it comes to undercover and she's had a bunch of good suggestions."

"Good I'm glad to hear it. Is there anything you guys need?" She asked, no longer the big sister but once again the Sergeant.

"Nah, I think we're good. I'll let you know if that changes."

"Okay, good luck Frank, stay safe, that's an order!"

"Ma'am, yes ma'am," Frank return with his best impersonation of an army recruit. "Thanks, Jane."

Jane hit the end call button and return the phone to its holster on her belt then got up and headed to Lieutenant Cavanaugh's office. The door was open so she knocked on the frame. He looked up from the pile of paperwork on his desk. "Jane, come in, have a seat." He seemed glad to have an excuse to set the paperwork aside for the moment. "Is everything in place?"

Jane had called the Lieutenant on Saturday night and given him the basics on the crime and her plan to lure the suspect into a trap. She'd also informed him that she and Maura were fostering the children of the murdered couple. He had told her to keep him informed. They both knew she was walking a tightrope with conflict of interest but as long as she stayed out of the field and kept him abreast of the operation everything should be fine.

"Yes, sir. I just spoke to Frank. He and detectives Riley Cooper and Claire Carlson went into the safe house last night and have been getting settled prepping the house to make it look like they've been living there for a while," she responded to his inquiry.

"Good, Detective Cooper was a good choice. She's got the undercover experience. I don't know much about Detective Carlson but based on what you've told me about the Clifford girl she should be able to pass as long as the unsub doesn't get too good a look at her."

"Agreed, and they all know to take precautions in that regard. On the other front, Nina set up her sniffer program last night to track any inquiries into the DCF database on the Clifford children. Nothing yet but that's no surprise. She and the DCF system rep should have the fake file on the placement of the children in the datbase by now. Now it's just a waiting game." Jane continued.

"And what if your plan doesn't work?" Cavanaugh pressed.

"Well, we had uniforms out canvassing the neighborhood both looking for potential witnesses and also asking questions about the Cliffords and any potential motives. If it turns out that Marshal Grey is not our guy then we can start looking into the Clifford's, or the Kinney's, life before they entered WITSEC. Even if Grey didn't do this the chances are still extremely high that Fuentes is behind it. Right now he's the only one we know of with a motive for the crime."

"Alright then, keep me informed," he said, turning back to his paperwork with a sigh.

"Yes, sir," Jane responded as she got up and headed back to her desk.

* * *

Jane sat at her desk, trying with minimal success to do paperwork on other cases. She was finding it extremely difficult to concentrate on anything but the undercover operation she couldn't be a part of. A litany of potential problems ran through her mind on an endless loop.

A video call from Maura and the children took her mind off of it for a few minutes.

Maura had made the rookie patenting mistake of feeding Bobby pasta with spaghetti sauce and he had ended up wearing more of the sauce than he had eaten. Maura had found it so adorable she had to share it with Jane before she cleaned him up. in the background she could see Bernie sitting at the table feeding her little sister. Jane thought she caught a bit of a preteen eye roll over Maura's being so taken wih her brother's mess. No doubt she had seen it's like countless times.

After they hung up Jane shook her head in wonder. There was a time, not too long ago, when Maura wouldn't have been able to wait until the boy was finished eating before she started cleaning him up. Now she actually waited long enough to share the moment with her wife. Jane knew they had TJ to thank for that. Babysitting their nephew had really taught Maura to loosen up and enjoy the chaos that was a toddler. The messes could always be cleaned up later!

Finally, after four excruciating hours Nina came in from the BRIC and waddled up to Jane's desk. "We've had a hit on the fake file!"

"Was it Marshal Grey?" Jane asked, bolting upright in her chair.

"It wasn't his system ID but I'm pretty sure it was him," Nina replied.

"What makes you so sure, if it wasn't his ID? Did someone hack the system?" Jane was curious how Nina could be so sure it was Grey if his ID wasn't used.

"No the system wasn't hacked. But I think it was Grey because, when I saw it wasn't his ID I did a little digging in the Marshal Service's database." At Jane's look of concern, she said, "Don't worry, I used his access to the DCF system to backtrack into their database. It should be undetectable and even if it is detectable it's unlikely that Marshal Grey will know about it."

Jane was still dubious but let it go. "Okay but that still doesn't explain how you know it was Grey who made the inquiry."

Nina grinned, clearly proud of herself. "I know it was him because the ID he used belongs to a recently retired Marshal who was partners with Grey up until a year ago. Apparently, the Marshal Service isn't very good about deactivating passwords for former agents. I don't know how Marshal Grey got his former partner's system ID and password but it probably wasn't too difficult. Most folks aren't good about protecting that kind of information."

"This guy is pretty good at covering his tracks," Jane said her expression equal parts concern and respect for her opponent's skill. "First he makes the crime scene look like a case of domestic violence gone wrong now he's smart enough to use someone else's ID to access the file on the Clifford children."

Nina saw the concern in Jane's face and said, "He maybe good Jane but we're better. Our forensics team wasn't fooled by his cover up at the crime scene and I was able to tie the system ID he used back to him. Now that we have proof that Marshal Grey is behind this it's just a matter of time before we catch him."

Jane nodded, "You're right, thanks Nina. Will you let Lieutenant Cavanaugh know that Grey has accessed the fake file. I've got to call Frank."

"Sure thing," Nina responded, waddling off in the direction of the Lieutenant's office.

Frank answered his phone before the end of the first ring. "Any word yet Jane?" She could tell he was trying to control the nervous excitement in his tone.

"Yeah, he's accessed the fake file. He used someone else's ID but we're 99.9 percent sure it was him. The ID belonged to a retired Marshal who used to be Grey's partner."

"How do you know that?" Frank asked.

"You have worked with your wife before right?" Jane shot back sarcastically.

"Right of course, stupid question. Don't tell her I asked."

"Your secret is safe with me. Now, it's a safe bet he'll do surveillance on the place before he makes a move. It's crucial that he not get a whiff of anything hinky or this whole operation will be for nought."

"Relax, we've got this Jane. Riley set up what looks like a normal home security system but it actually has motion sensors and cameras on every access point into the house. We've set up a watch schedule so somebody will be monitoring the camera's day and night without it being obvious. We also have audio set up to make it sound like there's both an infant and a toddler in the house should anybody be listening. As long as he doesn't wait too long to make his move he shouldn't suspect that things aren't as they seem." Frank did his best to reassure his sister and to impress his Sergeant.

"Sounds like you guys have things well in hand. Tell the others I said good luck and stay safe." Jane was proud of her brother but she couldn't help but worry.

"I will Jane. I've got to go now but I can't wait to hear how things are going with the foster situation. Hopefully, we'll have time to talk about that soon. Bye Jane."

The line went dead and Jane sat motionless for a few moments trying very hard not to think of all the things that could go wrong with the plan, her plan. If it didn't work, if things went sideways, it would be her fault.

Breaking herself out of her negative thoughts, she pulled up her contacts and hit the one for "Home". She had promised to keep Maura and Bernie apprised of any progress in the case and this definitely counted as progress.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's note: So here's the long awaited 16th chapter. If you follow me as an author you know that I was waylaid by my muse with a Supergirl-Sanvers story but that is complete now and I'm back o this story full time, not that I can guarantee quick updates but at least I'm working on this one and not something else.

A quick note on names: The name Clifton was the last name given to the Kinney family when they went into witness protection. For the children I used the same first names as they had before they entered WITSEC because I think it would be difficult for children to remember new names and they might slip up and out themselves. The adults however I gave new first names because I thought someone searching for them in this age of the internet might be able to find them if everyone in the family had the same first names. Maybe I'm over thinking it! Anyway, in this chapter I've used the families real names since at this point everyone knows who they really are.

I'd love to know your thoughts on this one. I really had no idea where I was going with it until I started writing. I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

* * *

" _Sounds like you guys have things well in hand. Tell the others I said good luck and stay safe." Jane was proud of her brother but she couldn't help but worry._

" _I will Jane. I've got to go now but I can't wait to hear how things are going with the foster situation. Hopefully, we'll have time to talk about that soon. Bye Jane."_

 _The line went dead and Jane sat motionless for a few moments trying very hard not to think of all the things that could go wrong with the plan, her plan. If it didn't work, if things went sideways, it would be her fault._

 _Breaking herself out of her negative thoughts, she pulled up her contacts and hit the one for "Home". She had promised to keep Maura and Bernie apprised of any progress in the case and this definitely counted as progress._

* * *

It had been four days since Nina's sniffer program had detected the access into the DCF database by someone using Marshal Grey's, former partner's system ID. Tensions in the safe house were wearing thin and nerves were becoming frayed. It was difficult keeping up round the clock surveillance while trying to look and act like a normal family. It didn't help that Jane was calling every couple of hours asking for updates when they had none to give.

"I don't know what to tell you Jane?" Frank answered just barely keeping his anger and frustration in check. "We have seen no indication that Marshal Grey or anyone else has been near the house."

"I think you've been made," Jane replied her tone equal parts disappointment and frustration. If she was right, they might never catch this guy. If he was smart, he would come to BPD as the Clifton's, or I should say the Kinney's, point of contact with the Marshal Service with some plausible excuse as to why he hadn't come to them earlier either that or he could simply disappear. Who would know better how to pull that off than a US Marshal?"

"No!" Frank exclaimed, taking Jane's words for a negative comment on their work. "We've done everything by the book, Jane. We went out just enough so it doesn't look suspicious but other than that we've laid low and kept up our surveillance."

"I'm not saying it's your fault Frank." Jane tried to placate her brother. "I'm just saying maybe he has a mole in DCF or BPD whose feeding him information. Let's face it, if Fuentes can afford to buy off a US Marshal he can certainly afford to buy off some on in DCF or BPD." The implications of that statement hit her like a ton of bricks and for a moment she panicked worrying about the safety of her family. But they had kept the number of people who knew the children's real location very small. A mole might be able to tell Marshal Grey about the sting operation but it was unlikely they would be able to tell him where Bernie Kinney and her siblings were really living.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to pull the plug on this op," she said unhappily.

"Jane, just give us another couple of days!" Frank pleaded.

"I'd love to but this is an expensive operation Frank. In addition to the three of you in the house, we have your back up in the van the next street over and we've had the Special Tactics Team on standby this whole time. If it weren't for the fact that we suspect a Federal Agent is the killer the brass never would have authorized the operation in the first place."

Jane sounded weary and Frank knew the fact that she and Maura were fostering the Kinney children made it especially difficult on her, not only because she cared about the children and their safety but also because all her actions would be under additional scrutiny to ensure no conflict of interest.

"One day, Jane. Just give us one more day. We're right about this guy, I know it and I don't think he's on to us. I think he's just being cautious." Frank made his case passionately. This was his first big undercover operation and he wanted a win more than he wanted the Red Sox to win the World Series.

"One more day," Jane gave in to his request. She just hoped he was right because if not then they were nowhere on solving this case. She hung up the phone and said a silent prayer that Marshal Grey would make his move soon.

As it turned out that prayer was answered more quickly than she could have imagined.

* * *

On the second day of the undercover operation, Riley had noticed a crew from Eversource, the local electrical company working down the street. She had called the company to confirm they had a crew in the area and the company had said they had a crew working in the area that week doing regular maintenance and checking connections to all the houses on the street. Riley even went so far as to ask Nina to run a check on the electric company van the crew was using. It checked out as being registered to Eversource.

After that no one on the undercover operation paid much attention to the electric company crew as they slowly worked their way up the street, knocking on each door to explain their presence then proceeding to do whatever repairs or maintenance was necessary.

Perhaps if detectives _had_ been paying attention to the electric company crew they would have noticed that at least one person on the crew was watching their house at all times, while the rest of the crew looked busy but never really accomplished much. Unfortunately, it never occurred to the detectives that a Federal Marshal with a fake story about having to conduct surveillance on a suspected murderer could convince the electric company to backup their story and even loan them one of their company service vans.

Despite that bit of bad luck, there was some good luck that worked in their favor. First of all, their cover had not been blown. When Marshal Grey made his move, just 30 minutes after Jane's phone call to the undercover team, he assumed he was going up against an average foster family who would be too intimidated by a Federal Agent to ask too many questions. His plan was to talk the foster parents into letting him take Bernie with him by basically telling them the truth, that Bernie was a witness under federal protection and that her parents murder was most likely the work of someone acting on behalf of Fuentes.

If they needed convincing he would point out that Bernie, and by extension everyone in the house, was still in danger. He would simply leave out the part where he was the "someone" acting on behalf of the Miami gang leader. The icing on the cake was that Bernie herself would confirm that he was the Marshal in charge of her case.

The under cover team's second bit of luck came when Marshal Grey knocked on the door and Riley answered it. She was the only one in view of the door at the time. Frank and Detective Carlson were in one of the back bedrooms monitoring surveillance cameras, desperately hoping for a break in the case. They had seen the man from Eversource approach the door and thought nothing of it. Riley had said she'd handle it.

They had been expecting the crew from the electric company to get to their house that day weren't surprised or suspicious. However, Riley recognized Marshal Grey as soon as she opened the door. Everyone on the operation had studied his official photo. It took all of her considerable undercover experience not to react when she realized the man from the electric company was actually their target.

"Hi, can I help you?" Riley asked smiling at the murderer as if he was exactly what he appeared to be.

Grey didn't even bother with the pretense that he was from the Eversource. He pulled out his badge and said, "Ma'am, my name is John Grey. I'm with the Federal Marshal's service. Can I come in?"

"What is this about?" Riley played along to gain some time. She needed to figure out how to alert Frank and Claire about Grey's presence without tipping him off that she knew his real intentions. She glanced past him to the street concerned about the rest of his crew. She couldn't remember exactly but there had been at least three other men on the electric company crew and she assumed they were all hired guns he'd brought in to work for him on the hit. Where were they now? Probably surrounding the house. She couldn't believe they'd screwed up so badly, missing the fact that the electric company crew was a fake. She just hoped the mistake didn't end up costing them their lives.

"It has to do with one of the children you're fostering. It really would be better if we took this inside." Grey made a show of looking over his shoulder as if he was expecting an attack any second.

"Of course, I'm sorry, please come in," Riley replied acting flustered. It wasn't much of an act, her heart was pounding out of her chest. "Please have a seat. I'll go get my husband."

She showed him to the couch and headed off down the hall saying, "Sweetheart? You have to come. There's a Federal Agent here."

As he stood in the Marshal Grey could hear the woman speaking to someone in one of the back bedrooms but couldn't make out the conversation. He didn't sit but wandered around the living room looking at pictures and picking up a cell phone someone had left on the coffee table. It was locked and the background picture was a generic beach scene complete with palm trees and blue green waves crashing on the beach. Nothing he saw made him suspicious of this family.

Glancing back into the living room to be sure a Grey hadn't followed her, Riley entered the room where Frank and Claire had been watching the surveillance cameras. Both of them were staring at her open mouthed as she entered. She didn't close the door knowing it would look suspicious. "Did you just say..." Frank began.

Riley interrupted him, "No time, yes Grey is in the living room," she whispered urgently. "It's the electric crew. I don't know where the rest of them are and I don't want to make a move until we have them under control. Frank you and I need to go out there and stall him. Claire contact our backup and have them round up the rest of his crew. When it's done you come out and we'll make our move on Grey."

Her gun was already holstered at the small of her back hidden by the sweatshirt she was wearing. Frank grabbed his and put it in the same place pulling his shirt out of his pants to cover it.

When they got back out to the living room they found Marshal Grey looking around the room. They had made sure to have toys and such for the children placed all around the house so as not to look suspicious to any one surveilling the place. Nina had photo shopped some pictures of the two of them at their "wedding" on a "ski trip", etc. It was too soon to expect them to have pictures of the children so they weren't worried about the lack of those.

"I'm sorry," Riley said looking embarrassed. "He was playing World of Warcraft with his headset on. He couldn't hear a word I was saying until I pulled it off his head. "Please let's sit." She gestured him toward a chair that conveniently faced away from the hallway to the bedrooms while she and Frank sat on a couch facing him.

"Yeah, sorry" Frank said, not looking all that sorry. "I was having a great game. Can't believe I had to stop in the middle of it." Frank did a great job of sounding put out by the interruption. "What's this about one of the kids we're fostering. My wife said you're a federal agent. What are you FBI? I mean they're just kids, what could the FBI want with them?"

"I didn't say he was FBI, honey? You never listen." Riley rolled her eyes at Marshal Grey and huffed a bit in annoyance.

"No, I'm not with the FBI," Grey explained patiently. This guy's an idiot he thought. It's going to be a piece of cake talking them into handing over the girl. "I'm a Federal Marshal."

"Like Tommy Lee Jones in those Fugitive movies? That's cool! Who was he chasing in that first one? Riley, you remember, the guy from Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Damn, what was his name." Frank was laying it on thick.

Riley had to admit she was impressed. They needed to stall and Frank was doing a masterful job. She played along, "You'll have to forgive him, he loves old movies." She rolled her eyes at the Marshal again. "It was Harrison Ford, Frank. He played Dr. Richard Kimble in the first movie and Sela Ward played his wife, who he was accused of killing. It really was a great movie. Did you ever see it?" She asked Grey.

"I can't say as I have. Now how about we get to the reason I came here?" Grey was starting to get a bit put out. The sooner he was out of here with Bernie Kinney the better.

"Of course, I'm sorry" Riley said, looking apologetic.

"Sure, whatever," Frank added, looking miffed that the real Federal Marshal wasn't living up to his TV counterpart.

Grey decided to ignore the husband's attitude. If the man had been one of his protectees he would have pulled him up short. Nothing bugged him more than someone who didn't take their own protection, or that of a loved one as seriously as he did. He'd seen it more and more of late. People who thought they knew better than the Marshals or who thought the rules were unnecessarily restrictive or that they just didn't apply to them.

When he'd first joined the Marshal Service he'd been so gung ho. In fact, he'd lied to the couple. He _had_ seen the movie The Fugitive and he thought Tommy Lee Jones' character was the coolest guy he'd ever seen. Right then and there he knew he wanted to be a Federal Marshal. Now it seemed like every new assignment had him grinding his teeth at the stupidity of the people he spent his life protecting.

He had been complaining to some stranger in a bar when he was on assignment in Miami when one of Fuentes' lieutenants over heard him. He had turned down Fuentes first offer to serve as a mole inside the federal government, as well as the next three offers. The fourth offer, however, was more money than he made in three years there would be a bonus of twice the amount should he ever actually eliminate a federal witness against Fuentes.

Grey had to admit he felt bad when the witness Fuentes wanted him to eliminate was an innocent child rather than some scum bag who had turned against other scum bags to save his own neck. Of course, he didn't feel bad enough to risk his own life, because failing Fuentes was a death sentence, of that much he was sure.

"You should know the Clifton family was in the Witness Protection Program," he told the couple. He began to explain about Bernie being a federal witness. The couple asked him all kinds of questions, which he mostly answered with "I'm sorry that's classified."

"I think we should call DCF, don't you Frank?" Riley said when Marshal Grey said he needed to take Bernie with him to a "more secure location".

"Yeah, I think your right," Frank agreed reaching for the phone on the coffee table.

"That, won't be necessary, I've already spoken with DCF. That's how I knew where to find you." Grey said, congratulating himself for his quick thinking, when he noticed both the man and woman looking behind him and tensing.

* * *

As soon as Frank and Riley left the bedroom Claire called the backup team. "Hi it's Detective Carlson, Marshal Grey is in the living room with Detectives Rizzoli and Cooper. He was with that electrical crew we thought was legit. We have no idea where the rest of the crew is and Detective Cooper doesn't want to take down Grey until we've taken out his backup. Cooper and Rizzoli are stalling Grey as long as they can but you need to hurry." She spoke quickly and quietly.

"Got it, Detective. My partner is calling in the Special Tactics Team as we speak. They're still on standby so they should be here in five minutes or less."

"Less would be better," Claire responded pacing back and forth in the bedroom.

"What's the plan once we get the team in custody," the officer in the backup van asked, partly so he could inform the Special Tactics Team and partly to keep Detective Carlson calm. He could tell she was having a hard time just sitting and waiting.

"Once we get the all clear from you guys I'll head out to the living room and the three of us will take Grey down. I can just see the living room from here and he's facing away from me so I'll be able to approach with out him being aware."

Claire stayed on the phone with the officer in the backup van and roughly four minutes later he informed her the Special Tactics Team was on site and working on rounding up Grey's team. Fortunately, Grey's team had no idea they had been made and so they were entirely focused on the house and not on their surroundings. The officers of the Special Tactics Team made short work of them and had them all in custody three minutes after they arrived. They pulled it off without firing a shot or making any sort of commotion that might have alerted Grey to a problem.

"Okay, Detective, we've got Grey's team in custody and the Special Tactics Team is in place to breach the house if things go south while your taking him down."

"Okay, good!" Claire took a quick breath in through her nose and pushed it out through her mouth. "I'm going in."

"Good luck detective!"

"Thanks." Claire hit the button to end the call and threw the phone on the bed. She pulled her gun out of it's holster, clicked off the safety and headed out of the bedroom and down the hall keeping her gun pointed at Marshal Grey.

* * *

Grey turned to see who or what the couple was looking at and was momentarily confused. There in the hall was what appeared to be a young girl pointing a gun at him. Then he realized he'd been made. He reached into the pocket of the Electric Company coveralls he was wearing for his weapon.

"Don't," Frank commanded.

Grey turned back to see both the man and woman holding guns on him. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held both hands up.

"With two fingers, take out your weapon and throw it away from you," Frank instructed. Grey did as he was told.

Frank glanced over at Riley who nodded her head towards Grey, offering Frank the honor of making the arrest.

"Marshal John Grey, you are under arrest for the murders of Sarah and Eric Kinney and for the attempted murder of Bernice Kinney." Frank pulled a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket and reached for Grey's left arm. Grey stepped into Frank and attempted to reach around him with his free hand to grab his gun from the waistband of his pants. It was a smart move because it made it hard for Frank to maneuver while at the same time using the younger man's body as a shield between himself and the woman who had been on the couch with him.

It was a desperate attempt by a desperate man who knew that in all likelihood his life was over as soon as Fuentes found out he'd been caught. It might have worked if he had been quick enough to pull the gun and hold it on the man's head before the young woman in the hall could react. Unfortunately for him he was not that fast and she was shouting at him to freeze or she would shoot.

He froze, and in no time found himself face down on the floor with his arm twisted painfully behind his back and the young man's knee holding him in place.

Frank snapped the cuffs on Grey's wrists and pulled him to his feet, while he finished telling him his Miranda rights.


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note: Hi everyone, I had planned to give you a little Rizzles family time at the end of this chapter but I ended up going into way more detail on the interrogation of Marshal Grey than I originally planned. This chapter was getting a bit long so I decided to end it before I got into family time. I promise I'll get back to Jane, Maura and the kids in the next chapter.

Until then I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Rizzoli and Isles (except on iTunes) and I make no money from this story.

Also, since I haven't mentioned it in a while, I don't use a beta. Any grammar, spelling, or continuity errors are all mine. Feel free to point them out—in a kind-spirited way. Thanks

* * *

 _Grey stepped into Frank and attempted to reach around him with his free hand to grab his gun from the waistband of his pants. It was a smart move because it made it hard for Frank to maneuver while at the same time using the younger man's body as a shield between himself and the woman who had been on the couch with him._

 _It was a desperate attempt by a desperate man who knew that in all likelihood his life was over as soon as Fuentes found out he'd been caught. It might have worked if he had been quick enough to pull the gun and hold it on the man's head before the young woman in the hall could react. Unfortunately for him he was not that fast and she was shouting at him to freeze or she would shoot._

 _He froze, and in no time found himself face down on the floor with his arm twisted painfully behind his back and the young man's knee holding him in place._

 _Frank snapped the cuffs on Grey's wrists and pulled him to his feet, while he finished telling him his Miranda rights._

* * *

Jane, Frank and Riley Cooper stood looking into the interrogation room through the two way glass. They were letting John Grey cool his heels while Frank and Riley filled Jane in on what had gone down at the undercover house.

"You should have seen it Jane, Riley was cool as a cucumber." Frank praised the other detective. "She asked Grey to have a seat in the living room while she came to get me like he'd been invited over for tea or something."

Riley just smiled and returned the praise. "Yeah well if it weren't for you pretending to geek out over the movie The Fugitive and the fact that this guy is a US Marshal," she aimed her thumb over her shoulder at the man sitting at the table on the other side of the glass, "we never would have been able to delay him long enough for the Special Tactics Team to round up his team."

"You both did great work out there," Jane replied, genuinely impressed with the job the two younger detectives had done. "Now I think we've let this guy sweat long enough. How's about you two go in there and get his confession?"

"Us!" they both exclaimed in unison.

"You mean you're not going to be the one to question him?" Frank continued, clearly surprised.

"I can't, for the same reason I had to stay hands off on the undercover operation. I don't want there to be even a hint of conflict of interest," Jane explained. "As long as Bernie and her siblings are under my and Maura's care, I need to keep my distance."

"Okay," Frank said sounding both excited and nervous about leading the interrogation on such a high profile case. Since he was the homicide detective and Riley worked Narcotics he would technically be the lead on the case even though she had more experience than he did.

"Of course," Jane said, putting her hand on Frank's shoulder to hold him back for a moment before he entered the interrogation room, "that doesn't mean I can give you a few tips on how you might want to handle this _**type**_ of situation. You know, just in general."

Frank smirked at his big sister. "I would welcome what ever tidbits of advice you might be able to impart Sergeant," he said only half joking.

Jane smiled at him then turned her attention to the man on the other side of the glass. "Right now he's still in shock," Jane began. "All he can think about is what Fuentes is going to do to him. You and I both know that anybody who can buy off a Federal Marshal can put a hit out on a prisoner no problem. Grey in there is a dead man walking and he knows it. What he doesn't know is what exactly we have on him. No doubt he'll try bluff his way out of this. Even if he manages to do that he'll still be on Fuentes' hit list. He failed his assignment and he knows too much."

"True," Frank said. "Can't say I'm feeling a whole lot of sympathy for a guy who has attempted to kill a 12 year old, twice!"

"I'm with you brother but that's not my point. My point is, he's desperate. Hopefully, when he finds out what we have on him he'll be desperate enough to make a deal."

"A deal!" Frank exploded with indignation. "You want to offer this slime ball a deal. Why?"

"Because," Jane said calmly, "he can testify against Fuentes. We have no idea how long he's been on Fuentes' payroll. I'd be willing to bet he knows enough to put Fuentes on death row many times over."

Frank still seemed disinclined to offer Grey a deal even for his testimony against Fuentes.

Riley, who had been silent through out the exchange between the Rizzoli siblings, saw what Frank hadn't figured out yet. "And if he can testify against Fuentes maybe Bernie doesn't have to."

Jane nodded, "If we can get the word out through the right channels that Grey is testifying against Fuentes and Bernie isn't. The heat is off of her. Maybe, she can move on with her life without the threat of gang hit hanging over her."

"But that just puts an even bigger target on Grey's back," Frank argued. "Why would he agree to that?

"Because, we offer to put him in WITSEC…and yes I see the irony in that. A five year old could see the irony in that. He will have to trust the organization he betrayed."

Both Frank and Riley looked skeptical. "Do you think he _can_ trust the Marshal Service?" Riley asked "I mean their reputation as being incorruptible is their hallmark. They are not going to take kindly to having to protect the man who ruined their perfect record. I know I wouldn't I be happy about it if I were in their shoes."

"Even if he can trust them do you think we'll be able to convince him of that," Frank added.

"Regarding the former, I'm hoping they will see protecting Grey as an opportunity to show that he was an anomaly and that they can and will protect whoever they are called on to protect, even the traitor in their midst. As for the latter, it's your job when you go in that interrogation room to convince him that WITSEC is his best option, his only option if he wants to live," Jane replied pinning them both with a stare that said she expected them to do just that.

"Here's what I suggest," she continued, when the two detectives looked distinctly uncomfortable under her glare. She proceeded to layout in detail how she would handle Grey if she were the one about to go into the interrogation room. "You guys can do this. Just keep your cool and remember he's a trained federal agent. He knows the play book as well as you do. Try to use that against him because he sure as hell is going to try to use it against you!"

* * *

Jane stood nervously chewing her thumbnail as she watched Frank and Riley enter the interrogation room where Grey was sitting in a straight-backed metal chair trying to look calm and in control while his hands were cuffed and chained to the table in front of him. Jane trusted her brother and Detective Cooper, she just hated having to be on this side of the one way mirror. Interrogation was her thing. She was really good at it and she loved it. There was nothing better than that moment when you looked into the suspect's eyes and knew you had them. The fact that she personally had so much riding on this particular case just made it that much worse.

Grey glanced up at the door as the two detectives entered the room and leaned forward in his chair. "Why am I here, why have you arrested me?" he demanded before they even sat down.

"Damn it!" Frank exclaimed, pulling out his wallet and handing Riley a $10 bill. "You win," he said. "Detective Cooper bet me that you'd try to bluff your way out of this by playing dumb. I told her you were too smart for that."

"I told you Detective Rizzoli, never underestimate the stupidity of a fed," Riley responded playing along and putting the $10 in her pocket.

On the other side of the one-way mirror Jane smiled. She had told the two younger detectives to throw standard operating procedure out the window with this guy. He'd studied the same rule book they had and it wouldn't work with him. They needed to throw him off his game by not playing by the rules. Frank had done that in a big way with this opening gambit and Riley had played right along. It hadn't been planned they had just improvised. _Despite their history those two work really well together,_ Jane thought, _I need to see if Riley wants to give Homicide another try. She'd make a good partner for him and the two of them would make an incredible team._

Grey fell silent, a wary look on his face. Frank and Riley sat opposite him. This part was planned. For a full 2 minutes neither one said anything. They didn't ask him anything or make any accusations. They just looked at him, as if waiting for him to speak. Grey became increasingly fidgety but refused to open his mouth without some idea of what they knew.

Finally, Frank put his hands on the table in front of him and stood up, Riley following suit. Without a word they walked out.

Twenty minutes later they walked back in and sat down again. "I forgot to mention last time, I'm Detective Frank Rizzoli and this is Detective Riley Cooper." Frank said in a pleasant voice as if he was talking to a new acquaintance and not the primary suspect in a murder investigation.

"As we mentioned when we are arrested you, we're working on the murder of Sarah and Eric Kinney." Riley picked up where Frank left off. Once again, Frank and Riley fell silent, looking at Grey expectantly. After a few minutes, they looked at each other shrugged and again left without saying a word.

Twenty minutes later they walked in again. This time Riley sat at the table but Frank stood in the corner to the left and slightly behind Grey. The position made it difficult for the Marshal to look at both of them at the same time. Riley spoke first this time, "So, would you like something to drink? A glass of water, cup of coffee, anything?"

"I don't know what you're trying to pull," Grey sad angrily, "but it won't work. You won't get anything out of me!"

Riley smiled triumphantly and looked over at Frank, raising her eyebrows as if to say, see I told you.

Grey glanced from Riley to Frank who just nodded and walked out. Riley remained in the room for two minutes then walked out to. She joined Frank and Jane in the viewing room.

"It's working," Jane said. "He's getting more twitchy every time you sit there and stare at him and he just as much as admitted he knows something." She smiled grimly at the two younger detectives. "Keep it up. Better to over do it than the opposite."

So they kept up the bizarre treatment for another four hours, sometimes they both went in, sometimes just one of them. They varied the length of time they left him alone. Sometimes they said nothing at all sometimes they made inane comments. With each visit Grey got more and more nervous.

By the four hour point, Grey was sweating profusely. His right leg was jumping so much it was rattling the table and his hands were clenched into tight fists.

Frank and Riley came in and sat at the table. "Here's what we know," Frank began without preamble, "You had a scheduled meeting with the Kinney's last Saturday. You arrived early, expecting Bernie Kinney to be there since normally Bernie was always either at school or at home." He did not tell Grey why Bernie hadn't been home, preferring to keep him in the dark as yet another method to keep him agitated.

Frank continued, "When you didn't find Bernie Kinney at home you tortured her parents, trying to get them to tell you where she was."

"Kudos by the way for how you went about that," Riley interrupted, "Going after Sarah, forcing Eric to watch was really smart. He's more likely to cave and you can make it look like a domestic violence incident. Husband goes into a rage, kills the wife, then in a fit of remorse kills himself. We see it all the time, don't we Detective Rizzoli?"

"Yes we do," Frank agreed. "You were good too. That was our initial assessment of the crime, murder-suicide."

"Unfortunately for you, our crime scene techs are some of the best in the country. In addition to finding a couple of partial shoe prints that didn't belong to the Kinney's, they determined that all but one of the injuries on Sarah were carefully calculated to be painful but not deadly. A husband in a rage would not have been so careful. Realizing that, the techs decided to recheck Eric's body and figured out that his wrists had been bound." Frank made a point of using the Kinney's names, again to keep Grey off balance. He had known these people. They had trusted him with their lives and with the lives of their children. They didn't want to depersonalize what had done by referring to them by "the husband" or "the female victim".

Riley picked up where Frank left off. "We know you didn't get what you wanted so you were probably scared off when the neighbor called the police and you had to dispose of Sarah and Eric and get out of there. The thing I don't get is why you didn't just show up while we were still investigating and pretend you were just arriving for your meeting. We probably never would have suspected you. That was probably your biggest mistake."

"Well that and the hair," Frank lied smoothly, "we found a hair at the crime scene. It doesn't match any of the Kinney's and we didn't get any hits off the DNA in CODIS. I'm guessing we'll get a match to you once we get a warrant for your DNA. We've got more than enough to get a warrant for your DNA."

The whole thing was a fabrication. They didn't have a hair nor did they need one. They just wanted to push Grey as far as possible so he would see no way out of his predicament other than testifying against Fuentes. Nothing in the law said that the police couldn't lie to a suspect. Grey knew that but by this point they had him so upset he wasn't thinking straight anymore.

"Anyway," Riley continued, "instead of coming to us as the Marshal assigned to protect the Kinneys you accessed the DCF database to find out where the children had been placed. Again, smart move using your former partner's system ID. But once again you didn't plan on going up against one of BPD's best computer technicians." Turning to Frank she said, "That wife of yours really is phenomenal with the tech stuff. Kudos to you on getting her to marry you."

"Thanks, I'm really proud of her," Frank replied with a smile. "In case you're wondering," he said turning his attention to Grey, "she put a sniffer program on the DFC database specifically looking for someone accessing the Clifton file and once you did, she did a background search and realized that the ID used belonged to your retired partner."

"Of course, you've realized by know that is was a trap. A sting designed to lure you into trying to take out Bernie again," Riley said. "And again, I have to praise you on the attempt. We had already cleared the Eversource crew as legit. We didn't realize our mistake until you showed up at the door. We had your official photo so I knew it was you right away but still. We had just about given up on the operation."

"By the way, you should know that the team you hired for the second attempt on Bernie's life are all singing like canaries. They are telling us all sorts of interesting things." Frank smiled maliciously at Grey. This was only partially true. Some of the men were talking but they didn't really know much more than the detectives already knew. Of course, corroborating evidence was always a good thing.

Throughout their recitation Grey's defiant posture had slowly melted away until he was slumped in his chair staring morosely at his cuffed hands.

"Your going to jail, _Marshal_ Grey", Frank put a derisive emphasis on the title. "I'd say your going away for a very long time but we both know that Fuentes will see to it that your time in jail is quite short. I'm sure he doesn't take kindly to failure."

Grey sat up straight in his chair, clenching his fists. "You have to segregate me from the general population. I'm a federal agent!"

"Actually," Riley said, with just a hint of a smirk. "We don't _have_ to do anything. Besides, you think a man who can afford to buy a Federal Marshal can't afford to put a hit on someone in the segregated unit?"

Grey slumped back in defeat. "What do you want then? You didn't go through all of this just to torture me…or did you?"

The detectives paused a moment, glancing at each other. Riley gave an almost imperceptible nod. Grey was ready.

"We didn't," Frank replied. "We want you to testify against Manuel Fuentes."

"Are you insane?" Grey shouted. "You just got finished explaining to me that Fuentes already wants me dead for failing to kill the last person who agreed to testify against him and that he can get to me even if you keep me segregated from the general prison population. What possible reason could there be for me to testify against him?"

"Because, if you agree to testify against him we won't send you to prison," Frank replied calmly.

"You won't send me to prison?" Grey asked confused. "What exactly will...". He stopped mid-sentence, comprehension dawning on his face. "You _are_ insane! No, no way. You want to put me in the program? You expect me to trust the very organization I betrayed? They'd probably kill me themselves!"

"The way I see it," Frank said, "you have two choices. You either take your chances with the prison system or you take your chances with the Marshals. I know which one I'd choose but it's up to you."

There was silence in the room for a minute while Grey considered two terrible options.

"Look," Riley interrupted his deliberations, "You used to be one of the good guys so maybe this will make a difference and maybe not but in this situation there is one choice that is clearly the right thing to do. Testify, help us get a ruthless gang leader off the streets."

She hesitated debating whether or not to say one last thing, essentially showing their hand. Something in Grey's expression told her to go for it. "Help us protect the witness you were supposed to be protecting all along."

Grey's head whipped up to look at her. He understood now, this had been there end game all along. He had to admit, they had played him like a violin. He briefly considered refusing to testify just to "beat them" in their little game but Riley had judged him correctly. After everything he had done, after he had sold his soul to the devil for a few pieces of silver, when he seemingly had nothing to gain from doing the right thing, he rediscovered that part of him that joined the Marshal Service to bring down the bad guys and protect the good guys. He knew that if he didn't testify it wouldn't matter if Fuentes killed him because he'd never be able to live with himself.

Grey's demeanor changed. His expression became calm and he sat up straight in his chair. "Okay, I'll testify."

* * *

In the observation room, Jane let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding. "Thank God," she whispered fervently.

On the other side of the glass, Grey had started telling his story. Starting back at the very first encounter with one of Manuel Fuentes' lieutenants. Jane double checked that the recording equipment was running. She didn't want to miss any of Grey's confession.

She pulled her phone off of her belt and called the local prosecutor's office and immediately after that the federal prosecutor's office. Grey's testimony would have both state and federal implications. She'd let them work out who got first crack at him.

Then, although she was under no obligation to do so, she called Grey's direct supervisor in the Marshal's Service. A real shit storm was headed their way and she wanted to give them a heads up. It's what she hoped they would do if the shoe was on the other foot. She had a hard time convincing the supervisor that Grey was dirty but once she did the woman first apologized for Grey's actions and then thanked her for giving her a heads up.

"I just can't wrap my head around it," Regional Supervisor Kate Drexel said. "This has never happened in the 230 years the Marshal Service has been in existence. And it happened on my watch!"

Jane sympathized with the woman. This was a devastating blow but she knew there was only one thing for the other woman to do. "You need to get in front of this," she advised Drexel. "I've already contacted state and federal prosecutors. You need to give your chain of command a heads up."

"Yes, of course," Drexel responded, "thanks again Sargent Rizzoli. I appreciate that you gave me a chance to get in front of this. I owe you one and I won't forget."

"Good luck," Jane replied, disconnecting the call. She wondered if she might have to call in that favor sooner rather than later to convince the Marshal Service to take their disgraced former member into the Witness Security Program.

Before she returned her phone to its holder on her belt Jane made one last call.

"Hello? Jane? Is everything alright?" Only someone who knew her well would have defected the edge of panic in Maura's voice.

"Everything's fine Maura, I promise." Jane did her best to convey the truth of that statement with her voice. "I just wanted to let you know I'm going to be late getting home tonight but I'll have some great news for you all when I do."

"You got him?" Maura asked, relief and excitement warring in her tone.

"Frank, Riley and Claire got him," Jane replied, giving credit where credit was due. "And he's confessing to everything going back to cheating on his spelling test back in first grade."

"Why would you care if he cheated...oh, you were using hyperbole. Of course. That's wonderful sweetheart, Bernie and I both look forward to hearing all about it when you get home."

Jane chuckled, it didn't happen nearly as often as it used to but she still thought it was adorable when Maura misinterpreted colloquial sayings. She considered telling her wife that she and Bernie shouldn't wait up for her but she knew it would be waste of breath. In their place she wouldn't be able to sleep either. "I'll get home as soon as I can but it will probably be quite late. If you want to try to get some sleep I promise to wake you both when I get home."

"Okay, thanks Jane. I love you."

"I love you back" Jane replied. Sliding her phone into its holder she turned her attention back to the confession taking place in the interrogation room.


	18. Chapter 18

Author's Note: As promised, this chapter contains some Rizzles family time but for those of you who like your angst, it's not all sunshine and flowers.

I want to address the Guest reviewer who complained about the pace of this story. Believe me I get it. I'm following a few stories that have literally had years between updates. Normally I don't post a story until I have a draft written but the idea for this particular storyline (not the whole story just the part about the murders) came from a comment on an earlier chapter. I'm making it up as I go and, for me anyway, that takes time.

I won't lie and promise frequent or regular updates but as I've said before I have no intention of abandoning this story. I've yet to leave a story unfinished and I don't intend for this to be the first one! If you want to wait until I mark it complete before you read the rest of the story I would understand completely.

As always, I don't own Rizzoli and Isles and I make no profit on this story. More's the pity ;-)

Enjoy!

* * *

 _Jane chuckled, it didn't happen nearly as often as it used to but she still thought it was adorable when Maura misinterpreted colloquial sayings. She considered telling her wife that she and Bernie shouldn't wait up for her but she knew it would be waste of breath. In their place she wouldn't be able to sleep either. "I'll get home as soon as I can but it will probably be quite late. If you want to try to get some sleep I promise to wake you both when I get home."_

" _Okay, thanks Jane. I love you."_

" _I love you back" Jane replied. Sliding her phone into its holder she turned her attention back to the confession taking place in the interrogation room._

* * *

It was almost midnight by the time Jane got home. She walked through the front door and turned around and locked it. She took off her boots and left them under the bench in their front hallway, smiling at the smaller sneakers, shoes, and rain boots lined up next to her and Maura's shoes. Then she removed her gun and badge and locked them in the drawer designated solely for that purpose.

As was her habit whenever Jane worked late, Maura had left the light in the hallway on. It wasn't until she had flipped it off intending to head upstairs that Jane noticed a flickering light coming from the living room. Changing course, she headed that way and found Maura and Bernie curled up on opposites ends of the couch fast asleep under a fleece blanket while a rerun of Law and Order played on the TV, the volume turned down low.

This had to be Bernie's influence, Jane thought. The procedural inaccuracies in such shows made Maura crazy. Jane wondered if she had managed to curb her tendency to point out said inaccuracies for Bernie's sake.

Jane came around the couch and crouched down by Maura's end. "Sweetie," she said gently rubbing the back of her index finger down her wife's cheek. Maura stirred and stretched, inadvertently bumping her feet against Bernie's. Unlike, Maura's slow return to consciousness, Bernie shot straight up from the couch, looking around frantically, "What? Who's there? What's going on?" she gasped breathing hard.

Jane understood completely, having woken up that way many times herself, thanks to the likes of Charles Hoyt and Dominic Bianci. It broke Jane's heart seeing someone as young as Bernie going through the same thing but she knew better than to try to comfort her with a hug this soon after waking her up. Instead she reached out a cautious hand and laid it on the girl's arm.

"It's okay Bernie, it's just me. I promised I'd wake you when I got home," Jane said gently.

By this time Maura was fully awake and sitting up on the couch, the sadness Jane felt for Bernie reflected in her eyes as well. It just reminded her why she and Jane did the jobs they did, despite the horrible things they encountered on a daily basis. If they could find justice for people like the Kinney children or better yet if they could save them from ever experiencing something similar, then it was worth the cost.

Bernie had calmed down and was once again sitting on the couch looking at Jane expectantly. Jane didn't bother trying to sugar coat the truth. "The undercover op worked," she said "Grey took the bait and we caught him."

Bernie seemed to deflate like a balloon with a slow leak. "I can't believe it was him," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper, "I mean, I know you all thought it was him and everything you said made sense but deep down inside I thought you were wrong." She looked like she was about to cry. "Or maybe I just hoped you were wrong. We trusted him! I thought he was one of the good guys. I can't believe he was working for Mr. Fuentes!" Bernie began to sob and Jane moved over on to the couch and held her while she cried.

Try as she might she could think of nothing comforting to say. How could she tell this intelligent young woman that it would be okay when her parents were dead at the hands of the man who was supposed to protect them. How could she expect her to trust anything Jane said when she too was someone whose job it was to protect her and her family, what remained of it.

Maura could see Jane's struggle to come up with the right thing to say and reached over and rubbed Jane's arm as it wrapped around Bernie's back in a show of support.

In the end, all either of them could do was cry with Bernie but in a strange way, that simple gesture, the fact that they grieved with and for her made her trust them more than anything else they could have said or done. She didn't think they could have faked that level of emotion. John Grey had never shown that level of empathy for his charges.

They sat like that for a few long moments then Bernie shook herself, wiped the tears from her cheeks with both hands and taking a deep breath said, "So how did it go down? Tell me everything."

Glancing at the clock Maura said, "It's awful late sweetheart. Maybe we should get some sleep and talk about it in the morning."

Bernie was about to protest when Jane reached over and put a hand on her knee to forestall her words. Keeping her hand on Bernie's knee but looking at Maura she said, "I'm guessing she won't be able to sleep until she hears the whole story." Bernie nodded her agreement. "Truth be told I'm a little keyed up from the events of the day so I probably won't be able to get right to sleep either. Let me just grab a beer and I'll tell you both everything."

Looking from one to the other, Maura could see she wasn't going to win this argument. "I'll get it for you," she said getting up from the couch and walking into the kitchen.

When she came back she had a beer for Jane, a glass of wine for herself, and a glass of water for Bernie. Jane shifted out of her place in between the other two on the couch and took a seat in one of the arm chairs set facing the couch so she could look at them while she spoke. Over the course of the next hour she told them everything that had happened with the undercover operation. They both interrupted her occasionally to ask questions but for the most part they just listened.

When she was done Bernie asked, "What happens now?" She was a bit stunned to realize that she no longer had to worry about testifying against Manuel Fuentes.

"I can't say for sure?" Jane responded, "Grey will be testifying against Fuentes but the lawyers still have to figure out who goes first, Florida, Massachusetts, or the federal government. They all have cases pending against Fuentes."

"No, I meant what happens with us, with Bobby and Bryleigh and me?" she asked with just a bit of a quiver in her voice.

Jane glanced over at Maura. She hadn't been ready for this question. Jane had been busy working on the case, even if it was just behind the scenes, and Maura had been at home taking care of the kids. They hadn't had a chance to talk about it.

"Well that's something we all have to talk about but it really is too late to get into it now," Maura said. "I think we'll need to at least try to get some sleep and we can talk about that in the morning when we've had some rest and we're more clear headed. Okay?"

"Okay," Bernie said. She stood up and headed for the stairs stopping just as she was about to leave the living room. "I'll see you in the morning," she said and then walking back over to the couch she leaned down and gave Jane a quick but strong hug. "Thanks," she said when she released the detective, "for catching the man who killed my parents and for telling me the truth about it. Most of the adults I've met since this whole thing started tried to keep things from me. I guess they thought they were protecting me but I think the truth is usually less scary than my imagination so thanks!"

"You're, welcome."

* * *

Maura leaned against the frame of the bathroom door watching Jane brush her teeth. She had prepared for bed long before Jane got home and so was ready for bed before her wife for a change. "We really should talk before we answer Bernie's question," she said as her wife rinsed and dried her mouth on the hand towel hanging from a ring beside the vanity.

"I know," Jane agreed, "Do you think it can wait until the morning? I'm wiped out." Maura could see that it was the truth and not an attempt to dodge the conversation. Maura was tired too she hadn't been pushing as hard as Jane had these past four days, while the undercover operation was going on but she had been home alone with the children. It had been both physically and emotionally tiring. The children's loss was still so new they were shocked and grieving. With their parents killer still at large she hadn't wanted to go out anymore than was absolutely necessary. So they had all been cooped up in the house for most of the four days while Maura tried to keep them occupied.

Taking Jane's hand and leading her to their bed, Maura said, "Of course sweetheart. It won't do us any good to try to discuss it when we're both exhausted. We'll just have to take the time to discuss it before we talk to Bernie tomorrow."

She approached Jane's side of the bed, pulled the covers down and stepped aside waiting for Jane to get in. Jane flashed her an amused smile and laid down on the bed, allowing Maura to pull the covers up under her chin. When she tried to give Jane chaste kiss on the forehead, the

brunette's hand shot out from under the covers and snaked under her hair and around her neck, pulling her down for a kiss that quickly turned passionate.

Maura let the kiss go on until they both need to break for breath then placed her hand gently on her wife's sternum to keep her from diving back into the make out session.

"Maura," Jane whined, giving her wife her best pout.

But Maura was having none of it. "We both need sleep. Today was hard on all of us and we've got some tough questions to answer tomorrow. Don't worry, there'll be time for...extra-curricular activities later."

Jane huffed grumpily and said, "don't be so sure, we've got three kids in the house now."

Maura just laughed and walked around to her side of the bed. She turned off the lamp on her bedside table and crawled into bed, snuggling up to Jane's back. "Good night my love."

"Good night sweetheart."

* * *

The next morning they awoke to the odd sensation that they were being watched. For Maura this was no big deal but given Jane's history, well let's just say it was fortunate for everyone that Maura woke first and felt her wife tensing up in preparation to defend them both from an unknown assailant. "It's Bobby," she whispered in her wife's ear.

Jane immediately relaxed and cracked open an eye. Sure enough the toddler was standing beside the bed with his thumb in his mouth watching them. "Hey bud," she said in her raspiest morning voice. "What's up?"

Bobby pulled his thumb out of his mouth long enough to declare, "I's hungry."

Glancing over at the clock on her nightstand Jane was surprised to see it was past 7:30 AM. She was surprised the baby hadn't woken them yet. She wondered if Maura had gotten up at some point to feed her. She stretched and sat up in the bed with her back against the headboard. Patting the bed beside her she beckoned the boy to join them on the bed.

Without hesitation he ran over to the bed and jumped up on it, landing half on Jane's legs and giggling as she dragged him up beside her and tucked him in between herself and her wife.

"What would would you like for breakfast?" she asked him.

"Bunny pancakes!" was his enthusiastic reply.

"I don't know?" Jane said in a sing song voice teasing the boy, "Bunny pancakes are usually a weekend special treat and it's only Friday."

"Jane," Maura poked her in the side, "stop teasing," her tone was only mildly remonstrating and the twinkle in her eye belied any real anger.

"Pwease!" the boy wheedled, giving Jane an Olympic class puppy dog face.

"Oh my God, Maura, would you look at that face?" Jane laughed and gently put her hands on either side of Bobby's face so she could shift it in Maura's direction. "How did someone so young learn to make that face so well. We are in so much trouble."

Maura chuckled, running her hand gently through Bobby's hair. She knew her wife was joking but something told her that this boy already had Jane wrapped around his little finger.

"Fine!" Jane finally replied, feigning defeat, "I'll make you bunny pancakes, even though it's Friday. I was planning to take the day off anyway so I guess that makes it a long weekend!"

"Come on, you can watch some cartoons while Maura and I get breakfast ready," Jane said getting out of bed, picking Bobby up and putting him on her hip.

"How about Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood? It's supposed to be an excellent series for toddlers and it's available on Amazon," Maura chimed in.

Jane smiled, she was sure Maura had done extensive research on the best educational TV programs for children Bobby's age. "That sounds good right Bobby?"

Bobby just nodded, having replaced his thumb in his mouth when Jane picked him up.

Maura switched on the baby monitor on their way out of the room. She knew it wouldn't be long before Bryleigh woke up. She was a little surprised their conversation hadn't already awoken her.

As they walked down the hall she glanced into the room Bobby currently shared with his older sister. Not surprisingly, Bernie was still out like a light. It had been a very long and emotional week so far and they finally had her parents' murderer behind bars. Combine that with the fact that it had been a late night last night and Maura figured this was probably the first sound sleep the girl had had since that terrible day.

She quietly pulled the door closed, determined to let the tween get as much sleep as she possibly could. There was still a lot she had to face and the more rest she got the better able she would be to face it.

* * *

With Bobby in the living room watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and the girls both still sleeping, for now, the two women set about preparing breakfast.

Maura decided to take advantage of the relative solitude to broach the subject of the children's future. "You know when Bernie wakes up she's going to want an answer to her question?"

Jane, preoccupied with getting together the ingredients for bunny pancakes, momentarily drew a blank on what question Maura was referring to. "Hmm?" she grunted searching through a cabinet for baking powder. "What question is that?"

Maura turned from the refrigerator with eggs and bacon in her hands and gave Jane an mildly exasperated look. "Her question about what happens next for her and her siblings."

Jane glanced in the direction of the living room but Bobby was engrossed in his program and even if he wasn't he probably wouldn't be interested in listening to their conversation. "I feel like the 'right' answer is we'll wait and see."

"But?" Maura prompted when it seemed Jane was going to leave it at that.

Jane sighed, "I know it's been less than a week and I've been gone for most of that week..."

"But?" Maura said again, a little more insistent this time.

Jane looked from Maura to the living room and back again, "it just feels like they belong here, with us. Every time I think about turning them over to someone else, I don't know, it makes me kind of queasy." She looked at Maura with a puzzled expression. "Is that crazy," she asked.

Maura felt the knot that had resided in her stomach since she'd awoken this morning and realized they still had to have this conversation begin to melt away. She had feared Jane, who hadn't spent nearly as much time with the children as she had, would not feel the same connection with them that she did. Apparently, she needn't have worried.

"Not at all," she responded. "The instinct to protect the young is hard-wired into almost every species, especially the female of the species. It's a genetic trait designed to ensure the survival of the species."

Jane couldn't help smiling affectionately at her wife's Google mouth, even after all these years she still found it adorable. "Is that your way of telling me you feel the same way?"

Maura grinned back at her. "Yes, it is."

"Good," Jane replied, relief evident in her voice. "I don't think we should mention anything to the kids yet, though."

"Why not?" Maura asked clearly puzzled.

"I think it's too soon for one," Jane explained, "I mean they just lost their parents. Bernie, in particular, might feel like we were trying to replace her parents. She might feel like she was betraying them if she were to agree to us taking them in permanently. Plus, DCF is still looking for family members. If they find any and they want to take them in we won't have much say in the matter. I wouldn't want to get the kids hopes up, assuming they want to stay with us, just to have them dashed."

Maura looked uncomfortable, "Do you think that's likely?" she asked, " Bernie said they didn't have any living relatives that she knew of."

"The key to that phrase being, 'that she knew of' there could be a long lost cousin, or it's possible one of her parents had a sibling they were estranged from."

Jane's tone was gentle but Maura still found her words jarring. It may have been only a week but Maura had spent almost every minute of it with Bernie, Bobby and Bryleigh and as difficult as the circumstances had been she had loved it. She had never felt so needed and she was surprised at how much she enjoyed spending time with the children. She knew she was already falling in love with all three of the children.

Despite the fact that they missed their parents and didn't or couldn't truly understand what happened to them, Bobby and Bryleigh were both happy by nature. She loved the sound of Bryleigh's laugh when they played peekaboo. Given the baby's age couldn't help wondering if her mother had ever gotten to hear that joyous sound before she died.

Bobby's curiosity about everything around him let her see the world through his eyes as if it were all brand new endlessly fascinating.

The way Bernie faced the danger of their situation head on without flinching reminded her so much of Jane that she couldn't help but wonder where the girl's bravery actually came from. Did she inherit I from one of her parents or did it develop in her as a result of the horrible situation she found herself in?

"So what are we going to tell Bernie?" Maura asked her wife. "You know she isn't going to let it drop." In addition to being brave like Jane, Bernie was tenacious like her too.

"We tell her the truth." Jane replied, "that DCF can't make any decisions about a permanent placement for the children until they determine for certain whether or not the children have any living relatives."

"Okay," Maura replied in a subdued tone. "I guess that's all we can do."

See her wife's distress Jane put down the measuring cup full of flour she had been about to dump into the mixing bowl and walked over to her wrapping her up in a tight hug.

"It'll be okay, sweetheart. The chances are very good that Bernie is right and she and her siblings have no living relatives. You know I can't promise anything but I really think we'll get to keep them."

"What if they don't want to be with us, especially Bernie? What if she thinks we're trying to replace their parents like you said?" Maura whispered with her face buried in Jane's chest.

"Well _now_ you're just talking nonsense?" Jane teased her gently. "Who wouldn't want to stay with us? Why you're just like Mary Poppins, 'practically perfect in every way' and I'm a regular superhero crime fighter!"

Jane's joking manner did the trick. Maura sniffed and chuckled, giving her spouse a light swat on the arm. "Alright, lets get cooking before we have a ravenous toddler in here wondering why his breakfast is taking so long."

Smiling at her success, Jane turned back to preparing the pancake batter.

* * *

The first batch of bunny pancakes was done and Jane went to get Bobby from the living room. She was surprised to find Bernie sitting on the couch beside him with Bryleigh in her lap. All three children were watching the TV.

"Hey, when did you two get up? I didn't even hear this one on the baby monitor," she said giving the baby a quick tummy tickle, which was rewarded with giggle and toothless grin.

"I woke up about 15 minutes ago and smelled bacon so I followed my nose. As I walked by your room I noticed that Bry was starting to stir so I took her with." Bernie replied. Jane couldn't help noticing the girl seemed much more relaxed than she had been since she had come to stay with them. It also wasn't lost on her that the girl hadn't panicked when she woke up and found Bobby wasn't in the room with her. Apparently, knowing her parents killer was behind bars was a huge relief. Or maybe it was the fact that, Grey's deal required him to testify against Fuentes, so she wouldn't have to. Either way, Jane was happy to see the change Bernie's demeanor.

"Is breakfast ready?" Bernie asked.

"The first round of bunny pancakes is ready and there's bacon staying warm in the oven," Jane replied. "You guys can share the pancakes if you like, while I get to work on the next round."

"Nah, Bobby can have them. He's been waiting longer. I'll grab some bacon though, while I wait for pancakes." She got up and put her sister in the pack-n-play and followed Jane and Bobby into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Maura had prepared a plate for Bobby and set it at the breakfast bar in front of a chair with a booster seat attached to it. Jane picked him up and put him in the seat and once he'd had a chance to giggle at the bunny shaped pancakes she set to cutting them and the bacon into bite-sized pieces and covering them with a generous serving of maple syrup.

"Good morning, Bernie." Maura said when she realized the tween had entered the kitchen with Jane and Bobby. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving," the girl replied.

"Here's some bacon," she put a plate with four pieces of bacon in front of the girl. "Pancakes with be ready in…" she glanced over to Jane who flashed her five fingers, "five minutes. Would you like anything else, eggs, toast?"

"Some milk for with the pancakes would be great, thanks."

Maura already had the milk out for Bobby so she pulled out a glass for Bernie and slid it across the breakfast bar to her. "You didn't happen to notice if your sister was still asleep did you? It's almost time for her breakfast."

"Yeah, she's actually in the living room, I noticed she was awake when I came down so I brought her down with me," Bernie explained.

"Oh, thank you. I'll get her bottle ready then."

"I'd like to feed her, if you don't mind," Jane chimed in. "I've been so busy at work I haven't had a chance to spend much quality time with her," she continued making her best pouty face.

Bernie and Maura both smiled at that. "That's fine with me," Bernie said, "as long as you finish my pancakes first!"

Breakfast continued in much the same manner. Maura took over the griddle when Bryleigh's breakfast was ready so Jane could feed her. When everyone was done Bernie helped Jane and Maura clean up the kitchen while Bobby went back to watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood and Bryleigh was playing with the mobile attached to her pack-n-play.

Glancing into the living room to make sure her little brother was engrossed in his program, Bernie leaned against the breakfast bar and addressed the two women. "So can we talk about what I asked last night?" she said quietly. "What happens with Bobby and Bryleigh and I now that Grey has been caught and I don't have to testify in court against Mr. Fuentes?"

Maura glanced at Jane, it wasn't as if they weren't expecting Bernie to raise the question again but she still didn't feel prepared for the conversation and she suspected Jane felt the same way.

With the smallest of sighs, she said. "I think I'll make us all some tea. Then we can sit and talk." She set about making some chamomile tea, thinking the calming effects would be good for all of them. It didn't hurt that the familiar actions of making the tea gave her a chance to settle her mind and prepare for this discussion.

Once they were all seated at the breakfast bar with a cup of tea in front of them, Bernie asked again, "so what's next for us?"

"Well, as you know DCF is searching for any living relatives you children might have. In the mean time you'll be staying here with us. If that's okay with you?" Jane began.

"I told you we don't have any relatives," Bernie replied not being difficult just stating a fact.

"I know sweetie but the law requires them to try before any final decisions can be made about permanent placement for you and your siblings." Maura responded.

"Okay, but what if they can't find anyone? Or what if they can but the person doesn't want to take three kids they barely even know?"

Those were both good questions and Jane and Maura were kicking themselves for not having discussed that possibility before having this conversation with Bernie.

Jane was still worried about moving too fast with the girl regarding to wanting to be the siblings permanent guardians and possibly adopting them in the future, so she just said "Well we'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it honey. Don't you worry though. Maura and I aren't going to let anything bad happen to you guys."

Bernie let it drop. But in her attempt not to offend the girl Jane had inadvertently left her very fearful about the future. She assumed Jane's measured response meant that the two women did not want to keep her and her siblings long term. Maybe they didn't want three kids or maybe they didn't want older kids just a baby. She'd heard that most couples wanted to adopt infants. What if they decided they just wanted Bryleigh? Would DCF separate her from her siblings! Bernie had no personal experience with DCF but she had heard horror stories from a couple of kids at school who were "in the system".

The more she thought about it the more upset she got. Unfortunately, a crash in the living room distracted Jane and Maura before they could notice the girl's distress and ask her about it.

While they ran to check on her younger siblings, Bernie fled up to her room to think about their future. The problem was, as a minor, she had little control over what happened to them next. She briefly considered trying to run away with her brother and sister but she was a smart girl and knew she couldn't even take care of herself properly on her own let alone a toddler and an infant.

It was a miserable young woman who sat in her room that morning listening to the happy sounds of family coming from the living room downstairs and wondering how long that happiness might last.


	19. Chapter 19

Author's Note: Here's Chapter 19. At least this one didn't take quite as long as the last few did! I hope you like it.

I've been meaning to thank all of you who leave guest reviews or favorite/follow this story. Folks who sign in to leave reviews know I do my best to reply to every review but I've been remiss in thanking the rest of you. So thank you, I really appreciate every review, favorite, and follow!

* * *

 _The more she thought about it the more upset she got. Unfortunately, a crash in the living room distracted Jane and Maura before they could notice the girl's distress and ask her about it._

 _While they ran to check on her younger siblings, Bernie fled up to her room to think about their future. The problem was, as a minor, she had little control over what happened to them next. She briefly considered trying to run away with her brother and sister but she was a smart girl and knew she couldn't even take care of herself properly on her own let alone a toddler and an infant._

 _It was a miserable young woman who sat in her room that morning listening to the happy sounds of family coming from the living room downstairs and wondering how long that happiness might last._

* * *

The five of them had a good, long weekend. On Friday they took the kids to the Boston Children's Museum. They all participated in a Family Yoga class. Then Bobby and Bryleigh had a blast making a Messy Sensory Activity Sticky Collage with Jane while Maura and Bernie checked out Science Explorations: Zoetropes.

Bernie was quiet to the point of almost being sullen but Jane and Maura wrote that off as a perfectly normal reaction to having lost her parents so recently and in such a terrible way. They were only partly right. Bernie was grieving but she was also extremely anxious about what the future might hold for herself and her siblings.

Saturday they ran some errands to get some things for a small family dinner. They didn't want anything too big. It was too soon after the children had lost their parents for anything that even remotely resembled a celebration but they did want them to meet Angela and Nina and to get to know Frank as an uncle figure rather than a cop. They also had a proposition for Angela. Maura had talked to Jane about it on Friday night after the kids were all in bed.

* * *

Jane came downstairs after checking that all three kids were tucked safely in bed. Bernie had still been up reading but had promised to turn the light out and go to sleep at the end of the current chapter. At the bottom of the stairs Jane met Maura coming from the kitchen with an open bottle of wine and two glasses.

"You read my mind," Jane said, relieving her wife of one of the glasses as they sat on the couch together. "I had a great time today with the kids but a little adult conversation and an adult beverage is just what I need right now!"

Maura smiled and poured them each a generous glass of wine. Putting the bottle on the table by her end of the couch she said, "Speaking of the kids, there's something I wanted to discuss with you."

Talking about the kids hadn't been what Jane meant by adult conversation but she was curious about what Maura wanted to discuss so she didn't protest. "What's on your mind?" she asked.

"Well you know I took two weeks off to be with the children and help them with the transition," Maura started. Jane just nodded, sipping her wine.

"Well we're halfway through that time and I've been thinking about what happens when I have to go back to work."

"Bernie should be back in school by then," Jane responded. "I guess we'll have to get Bobby and Bryleigh into daycare."

"I thought the same thing," Maura said, "but I've been looking into it and I'm not really happy with any of the options nearby. Plus daycare only solves part of our problem. What happens when we both get called to a crime scene in the middle of the night?"

"That's a really good question. I feel kinda dumb for not thinking of that," Jane said sheepishly. "So what are you thinking? We could get a full time nanny." Jane didn't really like the idea of a full time, live in nanny but she could think of no better idea.

"Not exactly..." Maura looked nervous and for the life of her Jane couldn't think of why. "I was thinking we could get a full time 'Granny'."

"A full time Granny?" Jane's face reflected her confusion at first and then Maura saw the light dawning in her eyes. "I...you...that's..." Jane stammered. "You want to ask Ma to watch the kids when we're not here?"

"Yes?" Maura responded timidly, making it more of a question than a statement. "I I know she hasn't even met them yet," Angela had been out of town accompanying Ron to a medical conference in Los Angelas since Sunday and, thus, had not had a chance to meet the children yet. She was due back later that day. "She already lives in the guest house so she wouldn't have to move and we wouldn't have to have someone living here with us…" Maura trailed off.

Jane looked a bit stunned by the suggestion. "Maura that's just…a really...brilliant idea!"

"You really think so?" Maura beamed at Jane. "I wasn't sure how you'd feel about hiring your mother to do it. Do you think she'd be willing? She seems to really like working for Vince at the Dirty Robber. Of course we can afford to pay her more than she makes there but maybe she'd feel like she was taking a step backwards going back to taking care of children again."

Jane smiled at Maura and took her hand giving it a squeeze. "Ma once said the only thing she was ever really good at was raising us kids. I suppose her attitude may have changed but I think she'll jump at the chance. And you're right, who better to look after our kids than their grandma?"

Maura couldn't help smiling when she heard Jane refer to Angela as the kids grandma. "So I was thinking we could have a small family dinner on on Sunday, just Angela, Frank, and Nina, let the kids get to know our family and we could talk to Angela about it. What do you think?"

"Another brilliant idea," Jane replied grinning at her wife.

* * *

While they were out running errands on Saturday they also got some things Bernie would need to return to school. She had brought it up with them that morning, while helping Jane and Maura clean up the breakfast dishes.

"Um, so I was thinking about going back to school on Monday," she said, toweling dry the dish Jane had just handed her and placing on the stack of dried dishes on the counter in front of her.

"If you feel ready, then I think that's a great idea?" Maura said encouragingly.

"Yeah, I don't want to get behind. I mean I've been keeping up with my assignments and all but it's better to actually be in class."

"You nervous about going back," Jane asked, "after everything that's happened I mean?"

"A little bit I guess." Bernie shrugged,"I kind of wish I didn't have to talk to anyone about it but I know some of the kids in my class are going to ask others will probably avoid me like the plague."

Jane nodded, impressed with the girl's insight.

"We can enroll you in a different school if you prefer?" Maura said. "Technically, your old school isn't in the same school district we live in but I spoke to the Superintendent of Schools and they said under the circumstances they'd give you a waiver for the rest of this year at least. We can request a further waiver until you finish Junior High but if you'd rather change schools now we can do that. You could go to the public school in this district or we could look at a private school. There are a number of excellent ones in the area…."

Jane placed a hand on Maura's shoulder giving her a silent signal to take a breath and give Bernie a chance to process everything she'd said.

Bernie for her part seriously considered the option to change schools. "It's tempting," she said. "It'd be nice in some ways to be able to start fresh. On the other hand, I had to do that when we entered WITSEC and it wasn't a lot of fun being the new kid in school, especially in the middle of the school year. I think I'd rather go back to my current school. I know all the kids in my grade and all my teachers. I don't have a ton of friends but all the ones I have are there."

"Okay sweetie," Jane said, "then that's what we'll do."

"If it's too much, you can always change your mind." Maura said placing her hand on the girl's arm and giving a comforting squeeze.

"Thanks, I really appreciate it." Bernie smile at them but they both noticed that the smile didn't really reach her eyes.

They assumed, as they had before, that her sadness was due to the fact that she was mourning her parent but again that was only part of the it.

Bernie really was grateful for how considerate Jane and Maura were being of her feelings. They really seemed to care but that just made her even sadder knowing that she and her siblings wouldn't be staying with them permanently. Part of her really wanted to hate Jane and Maura. If they were terrible people then, even though going into the foster system would be scary, at least she wouldn't be missing these two women or wishing she and her little brother and sister could stay with them.

The women in question had noticed Bernie's expression becoming increasingly dark and depressed as they finished washing the breakfast dishes in silence and so weren't terribly surprised when she asked to be excused. She headed up the stairs, her shoulders slumped and her head hung low.

"Do you think we should send her to get counseling?" Maura asked, staring after Bernie as she trudged up the stairs.

"Normally, I"m not a fan of shrinks, especially for myself, as you know, but I think maybe we should." Jane responded. "So much has happened to her and I think she's taking the blame on herself even though she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Why don't we ask her how she'd feel about it?" Maura asked.

"What if she says no?"

"Then we respect that decision, for now. If it seems like she's getting worse, or not getting better then we can revisit the decision later."

"That sounds good," Jane agreed. "But let's wait until after this weekend to talk to her about it. I'd really like this weekend to be about taking it easy and bonding as a family."

Maura smiled and wrapped her arms around her wife going up on her tiptoes to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "I couldn't agree more!"

* * *

Frank and Nina had agreed to come to family dinner on Sunday. Nina really wanted to meet the children. She had a feeling that these three kids were going to be her baby's cousins, although she kept that thought to herself. Angela had not only agreed but insisted on helping with the cooking, even though she'd just gotten back from her trip with Ron the previous day.

She showed up early the next morning, long before she really needed to be there to help prepare dinner.

Jane and Maura were still cleaning up from breakfast when Angela came into the kitchen through the back door. "Hey Ma," Jane greeted her with a quick hug. "You know we aren't having dunner until 3 PM right?"

"I know, I know, but if I'm going to spend most of the morning cooking I wanted a chance to spend some time with the children before hand." Angela responded with just a touch of defiance, as if daring Jane to try to send her away.

But if she was expecting push back from her daughter she was pleasantly surprised when Jane's only response was, "Good idea".

"Bobby and Bryleigh are in the living room. I think Bernie is upstairs reading." Maura informed her.

"I'll go ask Bernie to come down." Jane said, heading for the stairs.

Maura and Angela entered the living room where Bryleigh was just waking up from a nap and Bobby was on the floor playing with his legos.

He looked up as the enter and stared at Angela as if he's not quite sure what to make of her. Undaunted, she went over and sat beside him. She was much more reserved than she normally would be meeting a child, especially one her daughter and her wife are fostering but Jane and Maura had explained the circumstances and Angela instinctively understood her usual demeanor might be too much for a traumatized child.

"You must be Bobby." she said quietly.

The boy glanced at Maura as if to ask her if it's okay to answer. Maura smiled at him and he turned back to Angela, nodded, and said , "yes," in the same quiet voice she used.

"My name is Angela. What are you building with your legos." Angela asked, gesturing to the toys on the carpet in front of the boy.

"A wobot," the boy replied, "but I can't get it to look wight." His frown reflected his frustration.

"You want some help?" Angela asked sitting on the floor beside him but keeping her hands to herself for the time being.

"Can you make a wobot?" Bobby looked at her hopefully.

"I raised two boys and one tomboy," Angela replied grinning. "I can make robots, race cars, trains, and Janie's personal favorite, police cars!"

"Wow, will you show me?" Bobby asked excited.

"I'd love to" Angela answered, tentatively reaching out and running her fingers through Bobby's auburn locks.

By this time, Maura had retrieved Bryleigh from her pack-n-play and moved to sit on the couch close to where Angela and Bobby were building a robot with his legos.

"And who's this pretty little girl?" Angela asked, leaning over to look at the baby sitting on Maura's lap. She'd blinked her eye's owlishly, clearly not fully awake yet and Angela found it adorable.

"That's Lee-Lee," Bobby answered before Maura can. He hasn't yet learned to say Bryleigh. "She's my little sister. Bewnie is my older sister."

Angela reached out and ran her index finger down the baby's cheek. "Hello, sleepy girl. Did you have a good nap?"

Bryleigh yawned and waved her arms a bit, eventually grabbing a hold of Angela's finger. Maura suspected that the baby already has Angela wrapped around her little finger and Bobby as well.

Bobby tapped her knee to get her attention, "You gonna show me how to make a wobot." It is not a question but a statement.

"Yes I am." Angela declared. She gave Bryleigh's hand a quick kiss and deftly replaced her finger with Maura's in the baby's grip, then turned back to the pile of legos spread out on the floor in front of her and Bobby.

None of them noticed that Jane and Bernie had entered the room a few minutes earlier standing quietly by and watching the scene unfold in front of them. It wasn't planned but for some reason they had both stopped to watch Angela's interaction with the two younger children.

Jane was the first one to break their silence. "Hey Ma, I see you met Bobby and Bryleigh." She said walking into the room with her hand on Bernie's shoulder. "This is their big sister Bernie. Bernie this is my mom, Angela."

Bernie smiled shyly and said, "Hi, Angela."

Angela smiled back brightly and noticing the girl was carrying a book said, "It's nice to meet you Bernie. What are you reading?"

Holding up the book so Angela could see the cover she replied, "Nevermore, by James Patterson. It's part of his Maximum Ride series."

"Oh you and Jane must get a long. She's a huge Patterson fan."

"Really?" Bernie asked looking at Jane a little skeptically.

"It's true," Jane admitted. "I've read most of his stuff. Including the Maximum Ride series, even though they're technically considered Young Adult Fiction. It's a little freaky how we'll he writes from the perspective of a teenage girl, even if she is a mutant."

"I know, right!" Bernie said, offering a rare smile.

"Ange-a, wobot!" Bobby whined clearly frustrated that her attention had once again been diverted from their important task.

"Sorry, sorry! You'll have to excuse me but I promised to show Bobby how to build a lego robot." Angela said to Bernie.

"Cool!" Jane exclaimed, "Can I help too?"

Angela looked at Bobby, raising her eyebrow. "What do you think, should we let Janie play with us?"

"Does she know how to build a wobot?" Bobby asked, his expression serious.

"Are you kidding?" Jane exclaimed. "I build the best lego robots in all of Boston!"

Bobby glanced at Angela clearly considering her the established expert on lego robot building. She shrugged her shoulders but nodded yes a moment later.

"Okay," the boy conceded. "You can help."

Jane joined them on the floor as Bernie went to sit on the couch beside Maura and Bryleigh. Bernie opened her book but was more interested in watching the three people on the floor, especially Angela.

Bernie, doesn't remember her grandparents at all. Three of them died before she was even born and the fourth, her mother's mother, passed when she was barely a year old. She was fascinated not only with how the older woman interacts with her brother, playing with him as if she too was three years old and legos were the most interesting thing in the world, but by the dynamic between Angela and Jane. There was a lot of smiling and joking but even without the age difference it would be obvious who was the mother and who was the daughter.

She always assumed at some point her mother would stop doing things like trying to fix her hair, or telling her to sit up straight but watching Jane and Angela together made her wonder. Maybe when you're a mom your baby is still your baby even when they have babies of your own. The thought was oddly comforting, until she remembered that she no longer had a mother and would never get to experience the relationship she might have had with her mother as an adult.

She didn't realize she was crying until Maura silently handed her a couple of tissues. She felt embarrassed and was grateful when Maura, pretended nothing unusual was going on. Rather, Maura stood up said, "I need to get Bryleigh's bottle ready, would you mind holding her for me?"

Bernie nodded, not trusting her voice, and took her sister from Maura. She was instantly comforted by the familiar weight of the baby in her arms and wondered if this was why Maura asked her to hold her.

When Maura returned with the bottle she looked to Angela, "Would you like to feed her?"

Angela looked to Bobby and asked, "Would you mind if I stop for a while and feed your sister?"

He seems to consider for a moment then said, "it's okay."

"Thank you." Angela exclaimed ruffling his hair. "You're such a sweet boy!"

He smiled shyly at her then turned back to the LEGO robot that was now nearly complete.

Getting up from the floor, Angela sat on the couch. Bernie handed her the baby and Maura gave her the bottle. She fed the baby all the while making silly faces and cooing to her. Bryleigh seemed fascinated by this new, extremely animated person. Bernie couldn't help smiling at Angela's antics.

When Angela was done feeding and burping Bryleigh she noticed the time and said, "well we'd better get started on the gnocchi if it's going to be ready in time for dinner! Who's helping me?"

She had been addressing the question to Jane and Maura since one or both of them usually helped her prepare Sunday dinner. She was pleasantly surprised when Bernie asked, "Can I help?" She noted the surprised expressions on the faces of the three older women and explained, "my Mom was teaching me to cook. I really like it. We hadn't tried any Italian food yet though. I love Italian food, I'd really like to learn how to cook it myself."

Angela recovered quickly and said, "of course you can help. I'd love to teach you how to make Italian food. This one was generally indifferent to learning how to cook." She hooks her thumb in Jane's direction.

Angela and Bernie got up and headed towards the kitchen. "This is going really well," Jane commented to Maura. "I think it's a good thing we haven't mentioned anything about having Ma watch the kids for us though. I think it would have made her nervous about meeting them and Ma tends to go over the top when she's nervous about making a good impression."

"I think your right," Maura agreed with her wife. "She seems to have made a connection with each of the children, even Bernie. I really hope she takes us up on our offer."

* * *

By the time Frank and Nina arrived for dinner. The gnocchi was done and just waiting to be served with Angela's homemade tomato sauce, which was still simmering in a large pot on the stove. Angela had declared Bernie a natural in the kitchen and had even let her make one of the side dishes her mother had taught her, roasted asparagus with garlic and Parmesan cheese.

Bernie had teared up a bit when she told Angela about it. Angela had wrapped the girl in her best grandmotherly hug and said, "I'm so sorry you're going through this. You are such a brave girl but it's okay if you don't always feel brave. Just so you know, you can always come and talk to me. I live right out there in the guest house." She pointed out the kitchen window at the guest house."

Bernie didn't say anything but just nodded her head against Angela's chest. There was something so comforting and motherly about the woman and Bernie appreciated the fact that she didn't offer any useless platitudes or try to convince her that things would get better eventually. It was too soon for her to want to hear anything like that and Angela understood that instinctively. The girl needed time to grieve.

Dinner went well. Bernie enjoyed meeting Nina, who had previously been nothing more than a voice on the phone, and getting to spend time with Frank in a capacity other than as a police detective. She thanked both of them for helping to catch her parents' murderer but other than that everyone kept the conversation focused on more pleasant topics.

They talked about Bernie going back to school the next day and whether or not she was looking forward to it. She asked when Frank and Nina's baby was due—not nearly soon enough for Nina, who said she was tired of "lugging around bowling ball in her belly" and was ready to meet him or her. That, of course, led to a discussion of why they had decided not to learn the sex of the baby. They said it was mostly because "we don't care if it's a boy or a girl as long as it's healthy. Plus it will be fun to be surprised."

Maura's response to that was, "If it were me I'd want to know so I could prepare. I'd want to know what color to paint the nursery and what kind of clothes to buy."

Jane had smiled affectionately and said, "You'd want to know what college they were attending before they were born so you could buy the appropriate onesie."

Maura had blushed and swatted her wife's arm saying "Jane!" with feigned indignation. The truth was she would love to have advanced knowledge of where her children might attend college. It would be very useful to know ahead of time.

The dinner had ended and the family had adjourned to the living room with coffee or milk and cannolis that Frank and Nina had picked up at Angela's favorite Italian bakery. They had enjoyed quiet conversation while Nina rocked the baby to sleep in her arms and Frank helped Bobby build a lego race car. Eventually, Frank said he and Nina should head home. This late in her pregnancy Nina tired easily and Frank, being the dutiful husband, did his best to ensure she got all the rest she needed. It had been a relatively subdued family dinner by Rizzoli standards. This was all still very new to the children and Jane and Maura didn't want to overwhelm them with too much family togetherness even if it was just, Angela, Frank, and Nina this time. They hoped there would be plenty of family dinners in the future with all the associated Rizzoli family craziness.

* * *

After Frank and Nina had left and the children were either sleeping, or in Bernie's case reading in bed, the three women were cleaning up in the kitchen. Jane had been waiting for this opportunity to talk to her mother about their proposal but now that the time had come she found herself nervous to broach the subject, even though she had been so sure about it earlier.

What if she was wrong? What if her mother was happy working at the Dirty Robber and didn't want to go back to taking care of little kids full time? Would she be offended by the request? Would she resent Jane and Maura for asking her to do it but feel obligated to say yes?

Finally Maura broke her out of these negative reflections, placing a gentle hand on her arm and giving her an encouraging look. "Jane, wasn't there something you wanted to ask your mother."

A deer in the headlights look flashed across Jane's face when Angela looked at her inquiringly but she took a deep breath and got a grip of herself. "Yeah, yeah, I do, thanks Maura. Come on Ma let's sit for a bit." Jane led her mother over to the kitchen table and sat across from her so she could face her as they talked.

"I'll make us all some tea,". Maura said. She filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove and went to get some camomile tea. It was too late for anything caffeinated.

At the table Angela eyed her clearly nervous daughter and wondered what had her in such a state. "What is it sweetheart?"

"So, we have a proposition for you Ma and it's totally fine if you don't want to do it. We won't be upset but I, I mean we, we thought it would be right up your alley and of course we'd pay you. I mean we can pay you more than your making now and if you say yes you'd really deserve it because what we'd be asking you to do is so important and it would be such a big help us..."

Maura was a bit alarmed to see her wife this flustered. She walked over to Jane and stood behind her chair with her hands on her shoulders. "Sweetheart, relax, breath."

"Yeah, right, rambling. Sorry Ma. What I'm trying to say is..." Jane started over.

But Angela interrupted her. "I'd love to watch the kids for you when your both at work."

Maura grinned trying not to laugh at Jane who looked as shocked as if someone had just smacked in the forehead with a dead fish. "Huh?!" Was her rather inelegant response.

"Well that was what you were trying to ask me wasn't it?" Angela asked managing to look only mildly amused at the confounded expression on her daughter's face.

"Well, yeah but...don't you even want to know the specifics, like what we'd expect from you and how much we'd pay you." Jane had been prepared to layout their case before Angela agreed to take the job and was having a little trouble catching up.

"Janie, first of all, I am well aware of the kind of work you and Maura do. I assume you would want me to take care of the kids during your normal work hours and be on call any other time. As far as what the job entails, I dare say I have a better idea of that than either of you do!" Angela smiled when she said this to show it was not meant as a dig but a simple statement of fact.

Jane had to agree and nodded at her mother.

Angela continued, "as for the money. I trust both of you. In fact if I know my other daughter," she reached out and gave Maura's hand a squeeze, "I bet she has already done some research into what full time live in nanny's make and is planning to pay me on the high end of that scale"

Angela gave a knowing smirk at the light blush that covered Maura's cheeks.

Jane got up, walked around the table and pulled her mother up into a tight hug. It was Angela's turn to be caught off guard, her Janie was not a hugger.

"Thanks Ma, we were really hoping you'd want to do this. I can't think of anyone I'd trust more with our kids."

"Yes Angela, thank you. I know our children will be in the best of hands with the woman who raised my wife."

"Stop it you two, you're going to make me cry!"


	20. Chapter 20

Author's Note: Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! Or for those of you who don't speak Latin and weren't raised Catholic, through my fault, through my fault through my most grievous fault . I know this chapter took way too long. Life has been throwing me curveballs lately! Plus I knew where I wanted to go with this chapter but I had no idea how to get there. Finally I just sat down and started typing and it came to me. I'll be interested to see what you think of it, assuming any of you are still with me!

Enjoy!

Oh, since I haven't mentioned it recently, I do not now nor have I ever owned any part of Rizzoli and Isles. I'm just playing with them for fun. I don't make any money doing so.

* * *

 _Jane got up, walked around the table and pulled her mother up into a tight hug. It was Angela's turn to be caught off guard, her Janie was not a hugger._

" _Thanks Ma, we were really hoping you'd want to do this. I can't think of anyone I'd trust more with our kids."_

" _Yes Angela, thank you. I know our children will be in the best of hands with the woman who raised my wife."_

" _Stop it you two, you're going to make me cry!"_

* * *

Time passed as it often does. Sometimes it flew by and other times it seemed to creep at an absolutely glacial pace. Marshall Grey went into witness protection awaiting the trial of Manuel Fuentes. The Marshall Service was scrupulous in their protection of him but they got their revenge for his betrayal. Thanks to John Grey the Marshall Service could no longer say they had never lost one of their protectees. The new identity they gave him was as a janitor at a fish processing plant. In addition to cleaning toilets, his duties included cleaning up fish guts from the floors and machinery. He knew better than to complain. Doing so, he was sure, would result in an even worse placement.

The Rizzoli-Isles household settled into a new routine. Assuming they hadn't been called out to a crime scene in the middle of the night, Jane and Maura would switch off morning duties. One day Jane would be responsible for getting the kids up and dressed while Maura made breakfast. The next day they would switch. Jane and Maura would usually leave for the office around 7:15 and drop Bernie off at school. Since she was still going to her old school, which was in a different district than Maura's house, she couldn't take the bus. Sometimes either Jane or Maura had to be in earlier but they tried to ensure at least one of them was available to drive Bernie to school, partly because they wanted the girl to feel like she was a priority in their lives and partly because it was difficult for Angela to do it since she had to bring Bobby and Bryleigh with her when she drove Bernie to school.

They had worked out a system for nights when they were both called out to a crime scene so they wouldn't have to wake anybody up. Since Angela was right next door in the guest house they felt it was safe to leave Bernie and Bobby in the house. They would leave a note on their bedroom door so Bernie would know to call Angela if they needed help. Then they would take Bryleigh over to the guest cottage and put her in a crib they had bought for Angela's room. Sometimes Angela woke up when they brought the baby in but she generally fell right back to sleep when they left.

* * *

Three weeks after Marshall Grey's arrest, Maura came into the kitchen holding Bryleigh on her hip. She had just left Bobby in the living room playing with some old Matchbox cars that had belonged to Frank, Tommy and Jane when they were young. They were supposed to have been sold in the yard sale Angela had after her divorce from Frank Senior but apparently one of the boys had "rescued" them.

Jane was on her phone and whoever was on the other end Maura felt sorry for them. Jane was clearly not happy with them. "Are you freaking kidding me?" she shouted into the phone. "We were supposed to have just one more week to go and now your telling me we're going to have to wait another month!"

Maura couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the conversation said in response but it clearly did nothing to cool Jane's anger.

"So because some idiot in your office couldn't figure out that using their WITSEC name wouldn't work when looking for their relatives we have to wait another month while you correct your mistake. We're just supposed to hangout here in limbo for another four weeks. Haven't these kids been through enough? Don't you think they deserve to know what's going to happen to them in the future!?" Jane pulled the phone from her ear and jabbed her finger at the end call button. It was times like this when she really missed being able to slam a receiver down to end a call.

She turned to see her wife standing by the breakfast bar holding the baby and looking stricken. "We have to wait another month to find out if we can adopt the children?"

"Some dimwit at DCF put out the search for living relatives using the last name Clifton instead of Kinney. That makes it an invalid search. By law they have to redo the search using their legal names and we have to wait another month!" She slammed her hand down on the counter in frustration.

Bryleigh jumped and started to cry and when Jane looked over at her she realized Maura had tears in her eyes as well. She felt like a creep and hurried over to comfort both of them.

"Hey, hey, now. No crying, there's no need for tears," she cooed softly, wrapping her arms around both of them. "This is just a little hiccup. So we have to wait another month. At least we'll all be together."

Maura laid her head on Jane's chest trying, unsuccessfully, not to cry. She said, "I know you're right. It's just so hard waiting. Every day I just fall more in love with all three of them. We were so close, I was really letting myself hope that we were going to be able adopt them and now we're back at the beginning. What if this search turns up a living relative. I don't think I could bear it if we lost them Jane."

Jane rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. "I know baby, I feel the same way but there's nothing we can do but wait. Bernie seemed pretty sure their weren't any living relatives and even if they find one what are the chances they would want to take in three children they clearly haven't had any contact with in years?"

"I know, you're right," Maura said, pulling out of the embrace and giving herself a little shake. "Would you hold the baby while I get her breakfast ready?" She handed Bryleigh to Jane.

Jane rocked the baby, gently stroking her cheek with the back of her index finger. "Don't you worry little one," she murmured softly. "Everything's going to workout just fine." But her expression still showed her frustration at the delay in their ability to proceed with the adoption.

A few minutes later, Bernie walked in and dropped her book bag on the floor by one of the breakfast bar stools. She went over to the high chair where Bryleigh was eating her breakfast. Although she seemed to be wearing it more than eating it. They had recently started her on solid food and at this point she was just as likely to spit the food out as she was to swallow it.

"Apricot is an excellent color on you," she joked, ruffling her sister's hair.

"Would you like an egg white omelet for breakfast sweetheart heart?" Maura asked tying to sound cheerful.

Bernie was not fooled. Her head snapped up and she gave Maura a searching look noticing the strained look and telltale signs of tears. She then glanced over at Jane. The detective was better at hiding her emotions but Bernie could see a tightness around her eyes and a falseness in her smile. "What's wrong? Has something happened to Grey?"

Bernie didn't know how she'd handle it if something happened to the former Marshall and she had to testify against Fuentes. With the help of her therapist she was just starting to work through the trauma Fuentes and Grey had caused in her life. She still worried about what the future might hold for herself and her siblings but she had begun to accept that at least their lives were not in danger anymore.

"No! Sweetie, nothing has happened to Marshal Grey." Jane was quick to reassure her immediately understanding her concern. "He's still going to be the one to testify against Fuentes."

Bernie relaxed but only partially. "Then what's got you both upset?"

Jane sighed. She had hoped to have sometime to think about how to break the news to Bernie. She and Maura had yet to discuss with her the possibility of adopting the siblings. They wanted to but the tween's attitude had not improved much despite weeks of seeing a psychologist. She would be fine one moment, laughing and enjoying a good time and then she would lash out angrily at one or both of them and run out of the room crying.

Jane had even asked her mother if she thought it was normal behavior for a pre-teen girl. Angela had agreed that Bernie's behavior seemed worse than the norm but she felt that, considering everything Bernie had been through maybe it wasn't that unusual.

They had all agreed that it might be better to wait to tell her about their hopes to adopt her and her siblings. Maura suggested, and Jane agreed, that they talk to Dr. Arnone, Bernie's psychologist, to get her opinion but they hadn't had a chance to set up an appointment with her yet.

Jane took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She knew she had to tell the girl the truth. One thing she'd learned after living with Bernie for almost a month was that she could spot a lie from a mile away. "We just heard from DCF."

Bernie sucked in a breath and held onto the breakfast bar to hide the fact that her hands were shaking. Weren't they supposed to have another week before they heard back? Did that mean they found a living relative? But who, were they going to have to go live with some cousin they'd never met? Would they take all three of them?

"There was an error on the search for your relatives. They're going to have to run the search again. We'll have to wait another month for the results."

Bernie released a breath she didn't realize she was holding and practically collapsed onto the stool she was standing beside. She was so relieved to hear that they had another month with Jane and Maura it didn't occur to her until later to wonder why the delay had distressed her foster parents so much.

* * *

Angela arrived at Bernie's school at 3 PM, with Bobby and Bryleigh in tow, to pick her up and bring her to her weekly appointment with her psychologist. Bernie yanked the passenger door open, plopped down into the and dropped her book bag to the floor with as much force as it was possible to generate considering the small space. Then she slammed the door shut and sat in stormy silence without uttering a word of greeting to Angela or her siblings.

Angela sighed, it was going to be one of those days. She supposed it was a good thing she was taking Bernie to see the psychologist. Hopefully the doctor could get to the bottom of these mood swings. "Hi honey," Angela said brightly, ignoring the attitude. "How was school today? Did something happen?"

" _School_ was fine," Bernie responded huffily, placing the emphasis on school.

 _So,_ Angela thought, _something_ _is bothering her but whatever it is doesn't have anything to do with school._ "Do you want to talk about whatever _is_ bothering you?"

Angela glanced over to the girl to see her looking back at her. There was such sadness in her face and for a moment Angela thought she was about to finally tell her what had been bothering for the past three weeks but Bernie turned away looking out the window and said nothing.

She was thinking that she was really going to miss Angela when she and her siblings had to leave Jane and Maura's house. Having a grandparent was a new experience for her and she really liked it. Angela had been teaching her to cook Italian food and she was much less strict than Maura and Jane when it came to things like bedtime and homework before TV or reading for pleasure. She gave great hugs and would sometimes take the three of them out for ice cream or some other treat that Maura would have frowned upon.

Angela pulled up outside the doctor's office and put the car in park. "We're going to go do some grocery shopping, we'll be back in plenty of time to pick you up after your appointment."

Bernie grabbed the door handle and was about to exit the car without responding when Angela held her back with a gentle hand on her forearm. "It's okay if you don't want to talk to me, or Jane and Maura but at least talk to Dr. A."

Bernie didn't respond but simply exited the car with a sigh.

* * *

Dr. Elizabeth Arnone had taken great pains in designing her office in such a way as to put her patients at ease. It was bright without any harsh fluorescent lighting. The furniture was nice, but not so nice that patients would be afraid to sit and relax on it, and comfortable, nothing like those torture devices that passed for seating in most hospital waiting rooms. The wall decorations consisted of paintings and photos of calming scenes, seascapes, green meadows, and mountain scenes. They were meant to look nice without distracting from the true purpose of a patient's visit.

The young woman who had the appointment before Bernie's left the doctor's office dabbing her eyes with a tissue. Bernie fought the urge to roll her eyes at the woman. She has never seen her leave the doctor's office in a good mood and she can't help but wonder why the woman keeps seeing the doctor. The sessions don't seem to be helping her at all.

"She's says you can go right in." The woman said giving Bernie a watery smile before exiting the waiting area.

Bernie walked into the office and closed the door behind her a little more firmly than she intended. She didn't bother to apologize but just slumped down into one of the armchairs around a low coffee table, dropping her book bag beside the chair with a thud.. Dr Arnone, already sitting in one of the other chairs around the table raised an eyebrow at this entrance but didn't comment on it.

"Good afternoon Bernie. How was school today?" she began.

"Fine." Bernie replied.

"Are your friends still treating you differently?" Dr. Arnone asked.

"Some of them." Bernie said, looking at her hands instead of the doctor.

"What about your nightmares? Are they getting any better?"

"A little."

Dr. Arnone frowned at the girl. She hadn't been this closed off since she first started seeing her. She leaned over and put her hand over Bernie's trying to get her to look up. "Bernie, please look at me."

Bernie glanced up for a moment and then away again but it was long enough for the doctor to see she was fighting not to cry.

"Did something happen at school today?" She asked her voice radiating sympathy.

"No, _school_ was fine."

The psychologist didn't miss the slight emphasis on school. "Did something happen at home?" she asked. When Bernie didn't answer she squeezed the girl's hands and prompted, "Bernie, talk to me. I'm here to help."

Bernie glanced up and away again. This time her eyes filled with tears and they began to stream done her face. Dr. Arnone, picked up a box of tissues from the table and held it out to the crying tween.

Bernie pulled a couple of tissues out of the box and wiped her face. The doctor sat back and waited.

"Jane and Maura got a call this morning from DCF. Somebody screwed up the search for our relatives and now they have to start all over. We have to wait another month to see if they find anybody." Bernie explained.

"That must be very upsetting to have to wait so long to find out what's going to happen to you and your siblings. I can see why you're so upset." The doctor said sympathetically.

"That's not what's bothering me." Bernie said quietly. "Actually I was happy to get to spend another month with Jane and Maura but...". More tears came and Bernie dabbed her eyes with the tissues.

Dr. Arnone waiting for her to go on but she didn't "But what Bernie?"

Bernie sighed with resignation, she really didn't want to talk about this. She didn't see how it was going to help but she knew the Dr. A wouldn't let it drop.

"But I don't think Jane and Maura feel the same. I came into the kitchen this morning right after they got the call. Jane tried to act like it was no big deal but I could tell she was upset and Maura had been crying." Bernie sat there remembering the scene from that morning. The more she thought about it the angrier she got.

"I mean is it really so terrible for them to have to take care of us for another four weeks?" She burst out. "Is that such a terrible hardship for them!" Her face crumpled and she let out a sob, "Why don't they want us!" she wailed.

Dr. Arnone offered the box of tissues again and waited for Bernie to calm down a bit before continuing. "Are you sure that is why they were upset. Did you ask them?" Dr. Arnone suspected she knew why Bernie's foster parents were upset but the requirements of doctor patient confidentially kept her from talking to them directly without Bernie's permission. All she could do was encourage Bernie to discuss her fears with them but up until now she had refused to do so.

"What other explanation could there be?" Bernie replied, sounding defeated.

"I can think of any number of other explanations." The doctor said reasonably. "They may have been upset about the strain this puts on you and your siblings. They may have been angry about the mistake made by DCF. Or, they may have been upset about something completely unrelated to the call from DCF."

The doctor refrained from mentioning that they may have been upset because it meant they had to wait another four weeks before they could apply to adopt Bernie and her siblings. She strongly suspected that was the case but she didn't know for certain and if she was wrong she didn't want to get Bernie's hopes up just to have them dashed.

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Bernie said petulantly. "You weren't there. You didn't see them."

"You're right, I wasn't there and you weren't in their heads. The only way you can know for certain is to ask them. I know you have been reluctant to bring up the subject with them but I think it's time."

"No!" Bernie exclaimed.

"Bernie, what do you have to lose by knowing the truth. If you're right will make things worse to know that? Or would it give you the opportunity to prepare for whatever may happen in the future."

"What if it's just me they don't want?" Bernie cried, revealing her worst fear. "I can tell they love Bobby and Bry. What if they don't want an older child?"

"Oh Bernie" the Doctor was at a loss. She wanted to tell the girl that she wasn't going to lose her only remaining family members. She truly believed that but she knew she couldn't promise that it wouldn't happen. It was a very real possibility. DCF tried to keep siblings together but placing three children together was hard, especially when one of them was almost a teenager.

The doctor knew honesty was her only option here. "Bernie, I really don't think that's going to happen to you but I won't lie; it is possible and my question still stands. If that's going to happen wouldn't it be better to know now?"

Bernie slumped in her seat totally defeated. She knew she had been hiding from the truth, as long as she didn't talk to Jane and Maura about it she could pretend everything was going to work out okay but Dr. A was right; she needed to know the truth. She needed to be prepared and she needed to prepare her siblings, especially Bobby. Just thinking about it made her heart ache.

Taking a deep breath Bernie straightened in her chair and gave herself a shake. "Okay, I'll talk to them."

"Would you like me to be there when you do? We could do it this afternoon. You're my last patient of the day. We could call to see if Jane and Maura are available." Dr. Arnone wanted to be there to facilitate the discussion and to support Bernie if it turned out she was wrong and Bernie was right about Jane and Maura's intentions regarding Bernie and her siblings.

Fear flashed in Bernie's eyes and the psychologist knew she was hoping for a way out of the impending conversation. The look was gone almost as soon as it appeared replaced by a look of determination. "Yeah, let's do it."

* * *

Jane sat at her desk reading an autopsy report her wife had just brought up to the bull pen. Maura sat patiently in the chair beside Jane's desk waiting to see if the detective had any questions about the report. Jane's phone rang and she answered it without taking her eyes off the report she was reading. "Rizzoli."

Jane's head snapped up and she reached a hand out to towards Maura. "Yes, Dr. Arnone, this is Jane. Is everything alright? Is Bernie okay?"

Maura grabbed her wife's hand. "What's the matter with Bernie?" she asked, concern coloring her tone.

Jane held up a finger, listening to whatever the psychologist was saying. "Okay...No it's not a problem...We can be there in 15 minutes. You're sure Bernie is alright? Okay, we'll see you in a few."

Jane got up from her chair and pulled on her blazer. "Come on," she said, helping Maura out of her chair. "We have to go to Dr. Arnone's office."

"What's happened? Is Bernie okay. Why do we have to go to Elizabeth's office?" Maura asked clearly beginning to panic.

"I don't know what happened. Bernie is okay but Dr. Arnone says she needs to talk to us about something." Jane explained, escorting Maura out of the bull pen and over to the elevator.

"It can't wait until we get home tonight?"

"Apparently not, Dr. A said she thought it might be a good idea to have the conversation in her office." Jane replied with a shrug.

"Okay," Maura said, clearly concerned. "I have to stop by my office to get my things. Then we can leave."

"I'll call Ma while you're doing that and let her know she doesn't have to pick up Bernie. I'll see you at the car."

* * *

Back in the psychologist's office, Dr. Arnone hung up the phone. She was heartened to hear the worry evident in both Jane and Maura's voices. Clearly they cared about Bernie and she thought that boded well for the conversation they were about to have.

"They're on their way," she said turning back to Bernie. "Do you want to talk about what you are going to say to them?"

"I don't know how the start." Bernie said looking miserable. "I can't just ask them if they plan on adopting any of us?"

"Why not?" Dr. Arnone asked "That is what you're concerned about isn't it? Don't you think you have a right to know?"

"I guess, it just seems so…I don't know, self-serving?" she asked uncertainly.

"I don't think it's self-serving to want to know what's going to happen to you and your siblings in this situation. I think it's perfectly reasonable."

"I guess." She didn't sound convinced.

"Why don't I get the conversation started," the doctor offered , "and then I'll give you the opportunity to state your concerns, in whatever way you think is best. Then we'll give them a chance to answer and you have to promise to really listen and consider their response before you respond back to them okay?" Dr. Arnone laid out a path for the conversation. She knew having Bernie think about it ahead of time would help her say what she needed to say without getting overly emotional. Bernie just nodded.

"They should be here in a few minutes. Why don't we both spend that time thinking about what we're going to say, okay?"

"Okay," Bernie said as she pulled her feet up into the chair, sitting cross-legged with her arms folded in front of her.

Dr. Arnone, realized this posture was an unconscious attempt by Bernie to protect herself from whatever emotional pain might be headed her way but she didn't bother calling her out on it like she normally would. The girl had every right to be nervous.

Ten minutes later there was a knock at the office door. "Come in," Dr. Arnone called.

The door opened and Jane and Maura walked in. The psychologist got up and went over to greet them. Extending her hand to Jane she said, "Detective Rizzoli it's good to see you again."

"Good to see you too Doctor, and Jane is fine." Jane replied, shaking the doctor's hand while looking over her shoulder at the clearly nervous girl huddled in one of the arm chairs in the office.

The doctor was not affronted by Jane's distracted response, understanding that Jane was just concerned about her foster daughter. "Jane then, and please call me Elizabeth, or Liz."

Turning to Maura she gave the ME a quick hug, "Maura, how have you been? It's been a while since we had a chance to catch up." Maura and Elizabeth had attended BCU together before Maura went off to medical school and Elizabeth perused a doctorate in psychology. They had corresponded occasionally since then and would get together even more infrequently.

"I've been good busy adjusting to family life." Maura said, returning the hug. Her attention, like Jane's was focused on Bernie.

Seeing this, Dr. Arnone dropped the pleasantries and got down to business. "Please, take a seat," she said, indicating a couple of empty chairs around the coffee table.

When the three of them were seated she began, "I asked you to come in because Bernie has something she's been wanting to discuss with you but she is a little nervous about it. I thought it might help if I were here to...facilitate the conversation." She had been about to say "moderate" but thought that might set a confrontational tone.

"Okay," Jane said drawing the word out just a little.

Maura, reached over and placed her hand on Bernie's knee. "Sweetheart, I hope you know you can talk to us about anything and we won't get mad or upset." Bernie, gave the slightest of nods.

Dr. Arnone, watched this interaction carefully. She knew a lot of foster parents would say something like this just to look good in front of her. That wasn't the vibe she was getting off of Maura, nor did it seem like Bernie doubted what Maura had said.

Bernie's problem wasn't so much that she thought Jane and Maura would get mad at her as that she was afraid to hear what they might say about her future.

"Bernie," the psychologist prompted the young woman, "why don't you ask Jane and Maura your question."

Bernie looked up at Jane and Maura and then back down at her hands she was trembling and when she spoke her voice was shaky. "I, um, I was wondering, I mean guess you don't have to tell me but I'd kind of like to know...it's just you know it's hard not knowing."

Jane and Maura watched with rising confusion and alarm as their normally calm and rational foster daughter fell to pieces before their eyes. Finally, Jane couldn't take it anymore and went to kneel next to the girl's chair. Wrapping her arms around her and rubbing her back she said, "Hey, hey, take a breath. Whatever it is I promise it's going to be okay."

By this time, Maura had joined them kneeling on the other side of Bernie's chair and gently brushing her hair off of her face, "Jane's right honey, just take your time and ask us whatever it is you want to know. I promise we will answer to the best of our ability."

Quietly observing this scene, Dr. Arnone couldn't help but smile. She had a very good feeling that everything was going to work out for Bernie.

Bernie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then she tried again. "I was wondering...are you thinking about maybe adopting us, _all_ of us, Bobby, and Bry, and me?"

"Oh sweetheart," Jane exclaimed, laying her hand on Bernie's cheek and gently rubbing away a tear with her thumb. "Is that what has you so upset? You think that Maura and I don't want you and your siblings or that we just want Bobby or Bry but not all of you?"

"Well you never said anything about adopting any of us and you seemed so upset this morning when you found out we had to wait another month to find out if we have any living relatives. I thought maybe you were sick of taking care of us...or, or just me."

Jane was so stunned for a moment she couldn't say or do anything. Then she looked over and saw tears filling Maura's eyes. She stood up pulling both Bernie and Maura into a tight hug.

"Bernie, I am so sorry. We really screwed up. Of course we want to adopt you and Bobby and Bryleigh. You guys are the best. We love _all_ of you and we would never think of separating you. Your brother and sister need you. Who else can tell them about their biological parents."

It was Bernie's turn to be stunned into silence. Finally she squeaked out, "Really!?" The hope in her expression made Dr. Arnone smile. "But you never said anything? I figured you didn't want us...or at least not me."

Jane, shook her head, "God, I am such an idiot!"

"Now Jane. It wasn't just you, I agreed with you." Maura said trying to assuage some of the guilt she knew Jane felt for having caused Bernie so much distress.

Jane flashed her wife a grateful smile, "I know sweetheart but it was my idea." Jane turned back to Bernie to explain. "I'm so sorry, baby, at first it just felt too soon to say anything. We knew we wanted to adopt you guys after a week but at that point you barely even knew us. I was afraid you'd think we were trying to replace your parents."

Bernie, who had been hanging on Jane's every word, said "I guess that makes sense...but then why were you so upset this morning about DCF's screwup with the search for our relatives." She paused looking small and vulnerable then said, "I thought maybe you were upset because you felt obligated to keep us, or me, for another month but you didn't really want to."

"Oh honey no!" Maura exclaimed, grabbing Bernie's hand, giving it a powerful squeeze and looking her in the eye. "I was upset because we were so close to being able to put in our application to adopt the three of you and now we're going to have to wait another month. The waiting is so hard."

Bernie nodded her agreement with that last statement.

Smilingly broadly Dr. Arnone said, "Well, I guess that went about as well as could be hoped."

Bernie flashed her an abashed grin. "Go ahead and say it. You told me so!" She chuckled, happy to have been wrong.

Dr Arnone, put her hand to her chest in a gesture of mock innocence. "I would never say that!"

All four women burst out laughing at the implied, "even if it is true."


	21. Chapter 21

Author's Note: I know this one is a bit on the short side, especially considering going how long it took to get it posted. My 89 year old parents are staying with me for a couple of months and I don't have a lot of time to write at the moment.

As I've said before, I can't promise regular updates but I do promise that I have no intention of leaving this story unfinished. My sincere thanks to all of you who have stuck with me despite my slow posting schedule.

Enjoy this update!

I still don't own Rizzoli & Isles and I still am not making any money by writing this story. Sad, but true!

* * *

" _Oh honey no!" Maura exclaimed, grabbing Bernie's hand, giving it a powerful squeeze and looking her in the eye. "I was upset because we were so close to being able to put in our application to adopt the three of you and now we're going to have to wait another month. The waiting is so hard."_

 _Bernie nodded her agreement with that last statement._

 _Smilingly broadly Dr. Arnone said, "Well, I guess that went about as well as could be hoped."_

 _Bernie flashed her an abashed grin. "Go ahead and say it. You told me so!" She chuckled, happy to have been wrong._

 _Dr Arnone, put her hand to her chest in a gesture of mock innocence. "I would never say that!"_

 _All four women burst out laughing at the implied, "even if it is true."_

* * *

Things only got better after that in the Rizzoli-Isles household. Bernie's attitude improved greatly. She still had her pre-teen moments but by and large she was a much happier girl. As the days turned into weeks and they heard nothing back from DCF regarding any living family members, they all began to relax and allow themselves to believe that they were going to become a family officially. They already felt like a family in their hearts but they couldn't wait for it to be legal.

It was exactly three weeks after the meeting in Dr. Arnone's office, Bernie had gone to her appointment with the psychologist as usual. Despite having her greatest fear relieved when she discovered that Jane and Maura wanted to adopt herself and both of her siblings, she'd still been through a series of traumatic events and the adults had agreed it would be good for her to continue her therapy. Bernie wasn't sure she really needed it but didn't want to start an argument with Jane and Maura now that everything was going so well so she had continued with her weekly appointments and she had to admit they had been helping her cope with all the bad things that had happened to her in the past couple of years.

However, Dr. Arnone had surprised her that day when, at the end of the session, she had said, "Well Bernie, I don't think you need to come see me anymore. We've talked through the events surrounding your family having to enter witness protection and what happened to your parents and your fears about what the future holds for you and your siblings. I've given you some techniques to deal with the nightmares and/or panic attacks, although it seems like those are becoming less and less frequent so hopefully you won't need to employ those techniques too often. So, unless you feel like you need to keep seeing me, I think this is our last session."

Bernie sat stunned into speechlessness for a moment. The psychologist had given her no indication that she was even thinking about ending their sessions. The slight smile on the Doctor's face as she waited for Bernie to respond said she knew she had surprised the girl. It also served to snap Bernie out of her momentary silence.

"No..yes..I mean I agree with you. I don't think I need to come anymore" Bernie said quickly, afraid the older woman would change her mind if she hesitated too long. It wasn't that she disliked Dr. Arnone. The woman had certainly helped her cope with all the terrible things that had happened to her since she witnessed Manuel Fuentes commit that murder but talking about all that had happened hadn't exactly been a good time.

"Well alright then," Dr. Arnone said standing up and coming around the coffee table in her office. Bernie stood too.

"May I give you a hug," the doctor asked opening her arms.

Bernie didn't bother with a verbal response but simply stepped forward into the doctor's embrace, returning it with a firm squeeze. "Thanks Dr. A," she murmured in to the woman's shoulder. "I can't say it's been fun but you really did help me a lot"

Releasing the girl and looking her in the eye the psychologist replied, "Your, entirely welcome. I want you to know Bernie, that you are a remarkable young woman. I've worked with adults in similar situations and it took years of therapy for them to reach the same point you reached in a few months. If you ever feel the need to talk to me you have my number. I hope by now you know there is no shame in needing a little help to work through trauma such as you have experienced.'

"I know doc, thanks. I promise, if I need your help I won't hesitate to call."

Bernie had left the doctor's office and gone down to the parking lot to wait for Angela, and her brother and sister, to pick her up. She was surprised to find Jane and Maura there too.

"A little bird told us there might be cause for celebration after this particular meeting?" Jane said, phrasing it as a question rather than a statement.

"I'm done! No more therapy for me!" Bernie confirmed happily, as first Jane and then Maura each gave her a congratulatory hug.

"That's great sweetheart" Angela said, leaning in to give Bernie a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Well this definitely calls for a celebratory dinner." Maura said, beaming at the girl. "Where would you like to go? Anywhere you like, it's your choice Bernie?"

"Anywhere? Really?" the girl asked excited.

"Anywhere!" Jane confirmed, expecting the girl to go for pizza or burgers.

"Can we go to the Union Oyster House?" Bernie asked, tentatively. She knew it was an expensive restaurant. She had only been once with her friend Paula on Paula's birthday. She had loved it.

"Oh that's an excellent choice!" Maura said enthusiastically.

"Yes, I love the Union Oyster House," Angela agreed.

"Union Oyster House it is!" Jane said. She'd have been just as happy with pizza or burgers but the Union Oyster House had incredible seafood. If that's where Bernie wanted to go then that was just fine with her.

* * *

The meal had been delicious and the conversation had been light and lively. They were on their way home Angela had taken the younger kids in the SUV since it had their car seats while Bernie had opted to ride home with Jane and Maura.

"So, how do you feel about being done with therapy?" Maura asked, glancing back at Bernie in the backseat.

"Good, I guess." Bernie replied. "I'm mean I feel ready to move forward, you know, to get past everything that happened but I guess I'm I little nervous to."

"Why is that sweetheart?" Maura wanted to know.

"I don't know, I guess it kind of feels weird knowing I won't be talking to Dr. A anymore. I didn't really want to see her at first and it was really tough sometimes. She made me talk about a lot of stuff I didn't really want to talk about but at the same time it was nice to have someone to talk to about stuff. You know, someone who's...dang what do you call it? You know, someone who isn't involved in the situation."

"You mean someone with an objective opinion?" Maura asked.

"Yeah that's it!"

"I get that," Jane chimed in. "Sometimes it's good to talk through a situation with someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight so to speak."

"A dog fight Jane, really? Do you think that's an appropriate analogy to make with our twelve year old daughter?" Maura asked, though the slight smile on her face betrayed her lack of true annoyance.

"It's just a figure of speech, Maur." Jane said grinning while Bernie chuckled at both of them.

Then Maura's phone rang. She groaned, she wasn't supposed to be on call but Dr. Pike was covering for her and he had a bad habit of refusing after hours calls if they conflicted with his plans for the evening.

"Dr. Isles." Maura answered the phone without looking at the caller ID. "Yes, this is she….Yes that is correct."

Jane glanced over at her wife, something in her tone alerting her to trouble. Clearly, whoever Maura was talking to it wasn't the dispatcher from BPD.

"I see," Maura said into the phone, her tone flat and emotionless, which only served to make Jane even more nervous. She knew what her wife sounded like when she was upset and trying not to show it and this was it. "What's her name and how is she related?" Maura asked.

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow afternoon." Maura hung up the phone and stared out the windshield of the car. Jane could see tears forming in her eyes and got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She reached over and laid her hand over Maura's stopping her from spinning her wedding ring around and around her ring finger. "Who was it?" She asked, though she had a pretty good idea who had been on the other end of the line.

Maura, glanced into the back seat at Bernie. She had taken out her own phone as soon as Maura's had rung and was apparently engrossed in some game.

"It was DCF." Maura said quietly.

Before Jane could even formulate a response Bernie's head popped between their seats. "What did _they_ want?" she asked with an edge of panic in her voice.

Maura briefly considered trying to put a positive spin on the news she was about to deliver but she knew it was impossible. Bernie would see right through her. The best she was able to manage was to speak without bursting into tears. "Apparently they've found a living relative. Your mother's first cousin, a woman named Roberta Lochte. She and her husband are driving up from Connecticut this afternoon and we are supposed to meet them at DCF tomorrow at 2 PM."

"Nooo," Bernie wailed. "I've never even heard of these people. I don't want us to go live with complete strangers! I want us to stay with you guys."

Jane pulled the car over to the side of the road and twisted around so she could look at Bernie in the back seat. "Hey, hey, hey, let's not panic just yet. We haven't even met these folks. Maybe when they find out you already have a home with us they'll let you stay and if they decide they want you, well then they must be pretty decent folks right? I mean you didn't know anything about Maura and I when you came to live with us right? And look at how well that turned out."

It took everything Jane had to say that last piece. She couldn't imagine her life with out these three children in it anymore and she knew Maura felt the same way. She couldn't even look at her wife at the moment. She knew if she did she'd just break all to pieces and she couldn't help Bernie and her siblings that way.

Bernie didn't answer her, she just sat back and stared out the window, withdrawing into herself in a way she hadn't since the day she had discovered that Jane and Maura wanted to adopt her and her brother and sister.

Jane sighed, she couldn't blame the girl for her reaction. If she wasn't supposed to be the parental figure in this scenario she'd probably be acting a lot worse than Bernie was. She turned back to the wheel and pulled the car back out onto the street. They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

* * *

When they got home Bernie ran up to her room and slammed the door. Angela was in the kitchen checking the fridge and pantry so she could prepare for her weekly shopping trip the next day. She looked up surprised by Bernie's dramatic entrance and immediate exit. She was about to ask what that was all about but one look at Jane's grim expression and the question died on her lips.

"I've got a phone call to make," she said heading for the home office she shared with her wife. Maura watched her go with a trouble look on her face.

"Do I want to know what that was all about?" Angela asked quietly. She was surprised to see tears forming in her daughter-in-law's eyes.

"On the way home we got a call from DCF," Maura replied equally quiet. "They found a living relative of the children."

The color drained from Angela's face. "They can't just take our kids from us can they! We don't know anything about these people. What if they don't like kids? What if they're drug users or abusive. The kids are happy here!"

Maura slumped into one of the stools at the breakfast bar looking defeated. "I know, Angela but they're blood relatives. If they decide they want to take the children I don't know that there's much we can do about it."

"But they could be terrible people. If they were good people wouldn't the kids know about them? Wouldn't they have been in touch with the family before they went into WITSEC? Bernie said she didn't know of any living relatives. We don't know anything about them!" she repeated her earlier complaint.

"Actually I think Jane maybe doing something about that. I'm just not sure I want to know what."

* * *

Jane stalked into the home office and closed the door behind her. She pulled out her phone and pulled up her contacts clicking on her sister-in-law's name. She paced back and forth beside the partners' desk Maura had put in shortly after Jane had moved in.

After three rings Nina answered the call, "Hi Jane, what's new with you and yours?" she asked brightly.

Jane was all business, "Nina, I need your help but my request is not exactly kosher so feel free to say no."

Nina had known Jane long enough to recognize the desperation in her tone. She'd also known her long enough to know that whatever her request was it was not one she made lightly. "Whatever you need Jane, if it is within my abilities I'll do it."

"I need you to find out everything you can about a Roberta Lochte and her husband. They're from Connecticut. I'm not just talking wants and warrants here. I want financials, juvie records if they have them. Any shady business deals or litigation they might be involved in. Anything and everything you can get me."

"I take it this is not related to a case you are working?" Nina asked.

"No," Jane replied her tone stone cold. "According to DCF, Roberta Lochte is the long lost cousin of Sarah Kinney. We have to bring the kids to DCF tomorrow afternoon to meet her and her husband."

"Oh...OH! Oh no Jane, does that mean you could lose the kids?" Nina sounded almost as distressed as Jane felt.

Jane had to fight tears as she responded, "Not if I have anything to say about it. So, you still want to help?"

"More than ever!" Nina responded fiercely. "I'll get right on it. I'll have something for you before your meeting tomorrow."

"Thank you Nina. I don't know what I'd do without your help." Jane ended the call feeling marginally better to be doing something.

She walked back out into the kitchen to find her wife consoling her mother.

"Oh, Janie!" Angela wailed. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm working on it Ma." Jane replied grimly.

Maura looked up at this but didn't ask and Jane didn't offer any information. Maura might be able to lie now but that didn't mean she was good at it and they both knew it would be best if Maura didn't know what Jane was up to. She didn't need to know to be comforted by the knowledge that Jane was doing something. She had complete confidence in her wife.


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note: Hello all you lovely readers,

Once again I find myself having to apologize for how long it took to get this chapter posted. I could give you all sorts of good excuses for why it took so long but you've heard them all before and I hate to repeat myself. Feel free to look back at the Author's Notes on any of the last few chapters if you really want to know why this one took so long!

This chapter is a little short. As before I decided to go with what I had rather than making you wait any longer. Besides, this was a good place to stop, although you guys may disagree! Sorry if it's a bit cliffhangery (that's a word, right?)

One last comment, any mention of Department of Children and Families (DCF) policies or procedures in this chapter is completely fictional. I have no idea how it actually works. I apologize if I got it really wrong!

* * *

" _Oh, Janie!" Angela wailed. "What are we going to do?"_

" _I'm working on it Ma." Jane replied grimly._

 _Maura looked up at this but didn't ask and Jane didn't offer any information. Maura might be able to lie now but that didn't mean she was good at it and they both knew it would be best if Maura didn't know what Jane was up to. She didn't need to know to be comforted by the knowledge that Jane was doing something. She had complete confidence in her wife._

* * *

Bernie and the adults tried to put on a brave face for the younger children but it was a grim and anxious time as they waited for their meeting at DCF the next day. Despite their best efforts, Bobby and Bryleigh seemed to sense the tension in the air and were acting up all day.

Jane, who along with Maura had taken the day off from work, couldn't help but hope the kids bad behavior would make Roberta Lochte and her husband rethink any plans they might have about taking the children in.

The silence in the car as they were driving to the DCF offices was oppressive and seemed to be too much for the two younger siblings. Bryleigh burbled and squawked and made all manner of nonsensical sounds while Bobby kept up an endless stream of comments and questions about what he saw outside the windows. "Look at the doggie. He's big as a pony!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I wish Jo Friday was big like dat. I could ride her in the back yard." He giggled at the thought and Bernie sitting beside him gave him a half-hearted smile.

A little while later he looked at his sister and asked, "Where we goin' Bewnie? We goin' to the pahk?"

In the front seat Maura's breath hitched and Jane's hand, which was resting on her wife's thigh tighten briefly. They hadn't told Bobby where they were going and why, not wanting to upset the boy and not sure he would understand even if they did tell him.

Both Jane and Maura were trying to figure out how to answer his question when Bernie spoke up, with the simple truth. "We're going to meet Mommy's cousin Roberta and her husband."

"What's a cousin?" Bobby asked.

"A cousin is family. She was related to Mommy so that means she is related to us. She's family like you and Bryleigh and I are family but not as close," Bernie did her best to explain in a way he could understand.

"Bewnie are Jane and Mauwa cousins? They's our family now too, kinda like Mommy and Daddy but not 'xactly wight?" Bobby asked.

Jane's hand was like a vice grip on Maura's thigh and both women were fighting to keep tears from falling.

Bernie was saved from having to answer her little brother's question by their arrival at the DCF offices.

"We're here." Jane's voice was more of a strangled croak then her usual raspy tone.

* * *

As they enter the DCF building Matt Torrey, the young DCF social worker who had first met them at the crime scene when the children's parents had been murdered, greeted them as they came into the building. "Doctor Isles, Detective Rizzoli, it's good to see you again. I hope things have been going well?"

"Just fine, thank you Matt," Maura responded somewhat distractedly as she surveyed their surroundings.

Matt was new to this kind of work but he'd seen enough to know that this was a very stressful situation for everyone involved so he dispensed with any small talk and got right to business.

"The Lochtes are in family meeting room 2. Are you ready to meet them?" he asked. It seemed both Jane and Maura were struck dumb in that moment it was all either of them could do to nod their assent.

* * *

As they entered the meeting room a woman, Jane assumed was Roberta Lochte rose from the chair she had been sitting in and rushed towards them. "Oh, Charley, look at them! How precious!" She squealed rushing up to Maura who was holding Bryleigh in her arms and fawning over the baby. "Can I hold her?" She asked not waiting for a response before reaching out and snatching the baby out of Maura's arms.

"Yeah, precious," Charley responded with a blatant lack of enthusiasm. Jane's background check into Charles Emerson Lochte had turned up very little, a few misdemeanor charges and one felony fraud charge that didn't stick. He had a juvenile record but it was sealed and Jane had been unable to get it unsealed. She had found nothing more serious than a traffic ticket on Roberta Lochte. None of it was sufficient to keep the Lochte's, as the children's only living relatives, from getting custody if they wanted it.

But there was something off about the husband. She couldn't put her finger on it but her gut or her Spidey sense, as her late partner used to called it, was tingling.

While Jane was getting a bad vibe off of Charley Lochte, Maura was fighting the urge to pull Roberta away from the younger children, both of whom were not receiving her fawning attentions very well. Roberta was holding Bryleigh on her hip and was squatting down in front of Bobby speaking to him in a high pitched voice while pinching his cheek and running her hand through his hair. Bobby kept trying to wriggle away from her and go to either Maura or Bernie but Roberta kept blocking his path, albeit without hurting the boy in anyway Meanwhile Bryliegh was wailing and reaching for Maura, which didn't appear to faze Roberta in the slightest as she repeatedly kissed the baby girl's head and face, "saying, there there baby girl, you're okay."

It took every ounce of self control Maura possessed not to grab the children and run. It didn't help that Roberta was dressed in a manner that Maura had once heard Jane refer to as "a forty year old bar hag". The woman, who was easily in her early to mid forties and a good forty pounds overweight, was wearing a tight denim mini-skirt, with a hot pink halter top and black fishnet stockings. Maura couldn't help but think that the other woman's bright red lipstick, heavily rouged cheeks, sky blue eyeshadow, and bleached blond hair, would not be out of place on a two bit hooker.

While Roberta paid no attention at all the Bernie, the same could not be said for her husband. He slowly looked her over from head to toe. "Hello, little darlin'," he drawled. Staring at her in a way that was disturbing to say the least.

Bernie didn't respond but sucked in a breath and unconsciously took a step closer to Jane, who instinctively stepped in front of the girl trying to block her from Charley's view. She reached back without taking her eyes off of the man and felt Bernie take her hand and grip it tightly.

At this point Roberta, who had completely missed the exchange between her husband and Bernie, spoke to him. "Just look at this little boy Charley. Isn't he a sturdy little thing? Why in a year or two you can take him hunting and fishing with you. I bet he'll love sports. Maybe you can coach a Little League team he's on. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Charley looked at his wife like a third eye had suddenly appeared in the middle of her forehead. He made sound somewhere between and grunt and a guffaw. Then he turned back towards Jane and Bernie, craning his neck a bit so he could see around Jane to stare at Bernie. After a moment, he said, "You know, maybe taking in these three rug rats won't be as bad as I thought."

Roberta, who still hadn't noticed his inappropriate attentions towards Bernie responded enthusiastically, "Oh I knew you'd come around once you had a chance to meet them. I'm so glad!" Turning to Maura she said, "We tried for years to have a child of our own but it just never happened for us."

Jane who hadn't taken her eyes of Charley didn't miss his smirk at that comment and couldn't help but wonder if he had taken measures to ensure it never would happen for them.

Turning to Matt with a beatific smile on her face Roberta asked, "So is there any paper work or anything we need to sign before we take them home today?"

The collective gasp from Jane, Maura, and Bernie seemed completely lost on her. Turning to Jane and Maura she added, "I assume you brought their things with you. We don't really have any kids clothes or baby food are anything like that so I hope you brought all that. Oh and their car seats, we'll definitely need those if we're going to drive all the way back to Connecticut today."

Both Jane and Maura were momentarily struck dumb by the other woman's assumption that they would be leaving this meeting with the children. That was certainly not the impression they had received when the had gotten the call from DCF informing them of the meeting.

They were both grateful when the young social worker responded, "Oh! I'm sorry Mrs. Lochte. I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding. This is just an initial meeting so you can get to know the children and determine if you are interested in pursuing custody of them."

"Well we are interested. Why can't we just take them home with us now?" the woman asked clearly put out that she couldn't just walk off with the kids like she was adopting a puppy from a pound.

Matt was clearly flustered by this response but recovered nicely, "Um, well, if that's the case there's some paperwork you'll need to fill out and then we'll have to do a background check on both you and your husband and we usually schedule a home visit to ensure that your home is a proper environment for raising children."

"Well how long does all that take?" Roberta asked in a whining tone.

At the same time Charley blurted out, "Your gonna do a background check?"

Matt ignored Charley's question, although he did give him a long appraising look. After a moment he turned back to Roberta, an uncomfortable expression on his face. "Well, ah, I can't give you an exact time frame but it generally takes a month or two."

"Two months!" Roberta exclaimed scowling at the young man.

At the same time, Maura, Jane, and Bernie all let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Isn't their any way to speed up the process?" Roberta whined. "Charley and I drove all the way up here from Bridgeport and now your saying we have to drive all the way back with nothing to show for it?"

"Well, you did get to meet the children, which, as I told you, was the purpose of the meeting today," Matt responded, getting a little put out with the woman's attitude. "I'm sorry but there are procedures we need to follow to ensure the safety of the children."

"I think that's reasonable," Maura put in, gaining a scowl from both Roberta and her husband, who had been looking distinctly uncomfortable since the mention of a background check. Jane couldn't help but wonder what Nina's background check might have missed. It was very unusual for her sister-in-law to miss anything.

Matt smiled gratefully at the ME then turned to Roberta and said, "I'll go get the paperwork you need to fill out. I know you were planning on heading back to Connecticut tonight but if you were to stay and fill out the paperwork tonight and bring it back to us tomorrow morning it would speed up the process a little bit.

"We can do that, right Charley? I mean I don't have to be back to work until day after tomorrow and...your schedule is flexible," Roberta said, looking to her husband for his agreement. Something in the way she hesitated before saying that last bit caught Jane's attention but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was that bothered her about it.

"That means we'll have to find a hotel and some place to eat tonight. It seems like a lot of hassle to save a couple of days." Charley replied. Now he seemed to be the one who was whining.

"We can help you find a place to stay," Jane blurted out. "And you can come have dinner at our place. It will give you a chance to get to know the children better."

Both Maura and Bernie gaped at Jane like she had suddenly sprouted wings was about to start flying around the room but to their credit neither one contradicted her suggestion. Maura, for her part knew her wife well enough to know she hadn't made such an invitation without a good reason while Bernie was simply too flabbergasted to say anything.

Charley narrowed his eyes and looked at Jane suspiciously but Roberta clapped her hands and said, "That's a wonderful idea! Thank you so much. We accept."

"Excellent!" Matt said looking more than a little bit relieved to be getting the Lochte's out of his hair so easily. "I'll go get that paperwork for you. You can drop it by the office on your way back to Connecticut tomorrow."


	23. Chapter 23

Author's Note: I'd planned for this to be a longer chapter and to move the story along a bit more but this seemed to be a good stopping point and it has been a long time since I posted so I decided to go ahead and post what I've got. It will give me time to think about what comes next. I'd love to hear your suggestions.

Speaking of suggestions, thank you to Tingtorn 78 for the DNA idea.

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to some of the regular guest reviewers, I always respond to reviews when someone has an account but I can do that with guest reviews so a big thank you to Cherry Pie, Riviera, Mr Winter, Monica, Pink Lady, and all you anonymous guest reviewers. I love to read your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, even criticisms so thank you!

I still don't own Rizzoli and Isles and I'm still not making money off of this story but that's okay because I do have a lot of fun writing it.

* * *

 _"We can help you find a place to stay," Jane blurted out. "And you can come have dinner at our place. It will give you a chance to get to know the children better."_

 _Both Maura and Bernie gaped at Jane like she had suddenly sprouted wings was about to start flying around the room but to their credit neither one contradicted her suggestion. Maura, for her part knew her wife well enough to know she hadn't made such an invitation without a good reason while Bernie was simply too flabbergasted to say anything._

 _Charley narrowed his eyes and looked at Jane suspiciously but Roberta clapped her hands and said, "That's a wonderful idea! Thank you so much. We accept."_

 _"Excellent!" Matt said looking more than a little bit relieved to be getting the Lochte's out of his hair so easily. "I'll go get that paperwork for you. You can drop it by the office on your way back to Connecticut tomorrow."_

* * *

There was an awkward silence in the room while they waited for Matt to return with the necessary paperwork. Even the younger children were quiet, despite, or perhaps because of, Roberta's repeated attempts to engage with them.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was probably only five minutes, Matt walked back into the room. He handed Roberta a thick folder. "Here's everything we need to process your application to become the children's legal guardians. There are detailed instructions for filling out the forms but if you have any questions I've included a copy of my card. Feel free to give me a call."

Matt left and Jane turned to Roberta and Charley. "Where are you parked? We can drive by and you can follow us to the Bostonian. It's not too far from our place. You all can get settled there then come to our place at for dinner at six."

"That sounds great!" Roberta said a little too enthusiastically. Charley just grunted noncommittally.

* * *

Maura waited, with some difficulty, until they got the children into the car and were buckling themselves into their seats before she turned to Jane and asked, "Okay Jane Rizzoli, what are you up to. I know you don't want to eat dinner with those people anymore than I do!" Her tone made it clear what she thought of the Lochtes.

Jane glanced in the mirror to gauge Bernie's reaction to Maura's comment. She may not want to live with "those people" but they were her only living relatives. It was a sign of how upset Maura was by the prospect of losing the children to them that she didn't even consider how her words might effect the young girl.

Jane needn't have worried, if Bernie's expression was anything to go by she agreed wholeheartedly with Maura's assessment of her long lost cousin.

Glancing over to Maura, as she started the car she said, "Gimme a minute." Pushing the call button on her steering wheel she said, "Call Nina Rizzoli."

Nina picked up almost immediately, "Hi Jane, how did your meeting go?" In the background she could hear the baby burbling and cooing.

"First things first, I forgot to ask yesterday, How is my nephew?"

"Practically perfect in every way." They could hear the smile in her voice. "Even if he still won't let me sleep more than 4 hours at a stretch at night. Now I know you didn't call just to get an update on my adorable son, so what happened at the meeting and how can I help?" Nina replied.

"Your good, Nina but you might want to hear what I'm asking before you agree to help. Up until this point you've just been bending the rules. What I'm about to ask is a serious breach. You could lose your job." Jane cautioned.

"Sounds like the meeting did not go well at all. Again, what can I do to help." Nina's reply was insistent. She knew whatever Jane might ask would be in the best interest of the children. After everything those kids had been through, she would do whatever she could to help them. If she lost her job because of it then so be it.

"Thanks, Nina." Jane's voice was even hoarser than usual as she fought the tears that threatened at Nina's loyalty and support. Maura reached over and gave Jane's arm a squeeze and Jane felt herself calming down. "You're right, the meeting did not go well. Roberta Lochte is intent on getting custody of the children. Her husband, not so much but I swear there's something wrong about that guy. I know the initial background search you did on him didn't turn up anything significant but I swear there is something wrong with him. My cop sense is screaming. Can you go deeper, maybe access some more restricted databases like any juvie record he might have. This guy is way too sleazy not to have committed some crime. Maybe he's just been lucky so far. Maybe he got caught as a kid and learned to cover his tracks. I don't know."

"I'm on it Jane. It may take a little while. If I'm going to do this I need to cover my tracks and that takes time." Nina's reply was all business.

"Thanks Nina, you're the best. In the mean time we'll be working another angle," Jane said with grim determination.

"Okay, I'll get back to you as soon as I have anything. Good luck!"

"Right back at you." Jane hung up the phone and stared out the windshield at the road.

"Now will you tell me what you're up to? What other angle are we working?" Maura asked exasperated and more than a little bit intrigued.

Of course just then they pulled up next to where the Lochtes were standing by their car waiting for them. "Hang on," Jane said, jumping out of the car to give Charley directions to the hotel just in case he got separated from then in Boston's afternoon traffic.

Getting back in the car, Jane pulled out and waited just long enough for Charley to pull onto the road behind her. Then she headed toward the hotel.

Turning to Maura she said, "The other angle we will be working is DNA."

"Huh?" Bernie asked from the back seat, clearly not understanding Jane's reply.

Maura on the other hand got it right away. "Of course," she said smiling. "Just because he hasn't been caught doesn't mean he hasn't committed a crime. If we can get his DNA and run it through CODIS we maybe able to connect him with some open case. That's a great idea, I should have thought of it too!"

Jane gave her a cheeky grin and said, "I guess that's why I'm the detective and you're the medical examiner. Who knows, maybe if we get the two of them talking we can get one of them to slip up and say something incriminating. Probably not, I mean I'm sure this guy is crooked but his record is clean so he can't be too stupid but you never know. Maybe we'll get lucky."

As they drove they discussed, how they would get a DNA sample from Charley. They decided to get one from Roberta too. Neither Jane nor Maura thought Roberta was a criminal but it wouldn't hurt to check. They also discussed what topics of conversation might lead to the Lochtes saying something incriminating without them getting suspicious. The plan was helped immensely by the fact that they still had the surveillance system Maura had installed when Jane's cousin Carlo had visited and tried to pull an injury scam on Maura.

Bernie, insisted on being involved in the plan. Maura was hesitant to let her but Jane reasoned the girl had more at stake than either of them and Maura reluctantly agreed.

By the time they pulled up to the Bostonian, an impressive 4 star hotel on North Street that was not far from their Beacon Hill home, they had roughed out a plan for getting DNA samples and possibly some incriminating information on the Lochtes.

* * *

Asking Bernie to stay with her siblings, Jane and Maura exited the car. The Lochte's were exiting their beat up Ford Fiesta. Roberta was staring open mouthed at the hotel but Charley was scowling. "Isn't there something a little less fancy nearby? A Motel 6 or some place? This really isn't our style." He asked doing a bad job of hiding his anger and frustration at having to admit he couldn't afford to stay at such a nice hotel.

Roberta looked upset but backed up her husband, "Charley's right. I think..."

"Oh please reconsider," Maura jumped in. "The Isles Foundation maintains a suite at the Bostonian. Nobody is staying in it right now so you could stay there. It's quite comfortable and it has a wonderful view of the city." Her good manners kept her from mentioning that it would cost them nothing so money wouldn't be an issue.

Jane and Maura took the Lochtes in and got them checked in to the suite, which was one of the ones on the top floor. Neither of them missed the appraising look Charley gave the beautiful suite. "I guess this will do," he said churlishly. Behind his back Jane glanced at Maura rolling her eyes.

Roberta, on the other hand, gushed about how beautiful and elegant the room was. "Oh my God, Charley come here and look at this bathroom. I can't wait to tryout that tub. You were right about the view Mrs. Rizzoli it's incredible."

"It's Doctor, actually, Doctor Rizzoli-Isles." Jane replied, when it became apparent Maura wasn't going to correct the other woman.

Charley ignored both Jane and his wife, turning instead to Maura, "You said the room belongs to the Isles Foundation? What is the Isles Foundation?"

"It's my family's charitable foundation. We support a number of charitable causes, the environment, medical research, education…"

"Is that so?" Charley responded, the look on his face could only be described as calculating and it made Maura nervous.

If anyone else had asked that question Maura would have been more than happy to elaborate but in response to Charley, all she gave him was a simple affirmative. "Yes." She reached for Jane's hand unnerved by Charley's reaction to her revelation.

"So," Jane said, breaking the sudden tension in the room. "Maura and I will let you get settled in. Our place is pretty easy to find from here. If you give me your phone number I can text you the directions."

Jane got Charley's cell number and she and Maura left the room. While they waited in the hall for the elevator Jane texted the number to Nina and asked her to pull the phone records. She doubted anything would come of it but she wasn't going to pass up any opportunity to find dirt on Charley Lochte.

Once they were in the elevator and sure that Charley couldn't hear them Jane turned to Maura. "You saw his reaction to the room?"

"Yes," Maura replied, "and to the existence of the Isles Foundation."

"He's going to try to capitalize on the situation, I guarantee it." Jane couldn't hide her anger and disgust that someone would try to benefit from the suffering of three young children.

"But how, what profit is there for him to make in this situation?" Maura asked, clearly not seeing what Jane was getting at.

Jane smiled ruefully at her wife and kissed her cheek. "Sometimes I think you are too good a person for this world Maura Isles." Maura blushed and smiled at Jane waiting for her to continue.

"He's going to ask for money, a lot of it, for them to withdraw their application to get custody of the children," Jane explained in a world weary tone.

"What! He...but...how," Maura sputtered, shocked into incoherence by the very thought of someone doing such a thing. "But that's illegal! Surely he can't think that we would agree to such a thing."

Jane gave her wife a sad smile, "Sweetheart, guys like Charley are all about doing what's best for themselves. Legal or illegal makes no difference. The only thing that matters is whether or not they think they can get away with it. They assume that everyone else is just like them."

Maura considers this for a moment, "But do you really think he'd risk making an offer like that to a police detective. You said it yourself, he clearly isn't stupid."

"You're right. That's why we have to convince him that we would be open to such an offer."

Maura gaped at her wife, "Jane, I want to keep those children as much as we do but we cannot enter into an illegal arrangement to do it. It's wrong! Besides, if anyone ever found out we'd not only lose the children we'd loose our jobs and possibly our freedom as well!"

"Maura, sweetheart, calm down! I have no intention of buying our children from that slime ball. We just need him to think we would do it." She grinned at Maura as she saw comprehension dawning in her eyes.

"A sting!" Maura said excitedly "Oh Jane, that's brilliant."

"I don't know about brilliant but I think it will work." Jane replied with a self-satisfied grin. "It means you're going to have to lie, do you think you can do that without giving us away?"

Maura nodded. "Lying still makes me uncomfortable but, as you know, I can do it now without getting hives. In this case, I don't think I'll have any trouble at all lying to _that man_." The venom with which she said the last two words made Jane very glad she wasn't Charley Lochte.

*********************************  
When they arrived back at the car they filled Bernie in on this new development. This time there was no argument over whether or not Bernie would be involved in the plan.

"What can I do to help?" she asked once they had told her how they hoped to trick Charley into soliciting a bribe from them.

"Good question," Jane replied. "I don't know for sure. It's important that Charley be the one to suggest the payoff. If **_we_** do it then he can claim entrapment. So we need him to believe that we have the means, which he already knows we do, and the desire. He might be less suspicious if you were to let it slip that Maura and I had been planning to adopt you and your brother and sister."

"I can do that," Bernie replied confidently.

Maura had been quiet and Jane could tell by the look on her face she was trying to work something out in her mind before she brought it up. "Maybe," Maura started, then hesitated.

"Maybe what?" Jane asked, eager to hear whatever her brilliant wife might have come up with.

"Well, I've just been thinking about how we can convince Charley that a cop and a medical examiner would be willing to break the law. We don't have time to plant any incriminating evidence at the house for him to find." Maura said hesitantly.

"True," Jane replied. "I'm guessing you have another idea."

"Bernie's a very bright and inquisitive girl. Anyone who spends more than a few minutes with her can see that."

"And?" Jane prompted, while in the back seat Bernie blushed at the compliment.

"And, it isn't hard to imagine that such a young woman might hear or see something incriminating and be able to figure out that something…unsavory, is going on." Maura looked at Jane and then to Bernie to see how each of them had taken her suggestion.

She could tell by the expression on Jane's face that she was mulling over the idea, working out details like what Bernie might have "heard" and how she could work that into a conversation with Charley without raising his suspicions.

Bernie was grinning and nodding. "I like it!" she exclaimed.

"Hold your horses young lady," Jane said, momentarily shocked at how much she sounded like her own mother when she said it. "I admit the idea has merit but we need to fill in a whole lot of details before we go with it and we don't have a lot of time. Are you sure you want to attempt this? If we screw it up we could lose our chance of shutting down their application to get custody of you and your siblings."

"My Dad always said I was good under pressure. That's how I know I can do this. The more important something is the better I do." Bernie grinned at them cockily

Bernie's confidence was contagious and Jane couldn't help but grin back at her. "Well alright then. Let's figure out how to make this happen."

In the seat beside her Maura shook her head and smiled ruefully. "If I didn't know better I'd swear she was your biological daughter with that cocky attitude." she said with a stern tone that was belied by the affectionate smile on her face.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:** Try not to faint from the shock of getting two updates from me in the space of a week. This is a nice long one too. For some reason this one practically wrote itself. Of course, I had more time to write this week than I've had all summer so that helped.

While I'm at it I'd like to address the guest reviewers who have complained about how long it normally takes me to update this story. First and foremost, I get it. I have a number of stories I've been following for years and it's frustrating when it takes so long between updates.

Normally I don't start posting a story until I've got a complete draft but the idea for this story came about differently than most of my stories and when I started it I did't really know where it was headed.

Also, I'd like to point out that this is actually two stories. The first one started in November 2017 about how Jane and Maura got together and the second one about how they came to foster (and hopefully adopt) the Kinney children which I started In October 2018. So technically it hasn't been two years since I started this most recent story.

I probably should have posted the second story as a sequel but I knew folks were following the first story so I just made it a continuation of that story.

I apologize for the length of this note but I wanted to respond to the complaints about how long it long it takes me to update this story and since they were guest reviews this is the only way I could do that.

As always, thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites. They always make my day!

* * *

 _Bernie's confidence was contagious and Jane couldn't help but grin back at her. "Well alright then. Let's figure out how to make this happen."_

 _In the seat beside her Maura shook her head and smiled ruefully. "If I didn't know better I'd swear she was your biological daughter with that cocky attitude." she said with a stern tone that was belied by the affectionate smile on her face._

* * *

It was after 4 PM by the time they got home, which didn't leave them a lot of time to prepare for the Lochtes' arrival. Jane made sure the surveillance system was up and running while Maura went to the kitchen to see about dinner. Bernie joined her there after settling her brother and sister in the living room. Bobby was playing with his Legos and Bryleigh was napping in the Pack-n-Play.

Fortunately, Angela had prepared a lasagna for their dinner that night so all they had to do was pop it in the oven.

"Bernie, would you make a salad while I prepare some garlic bread?" Maura asked.

"Sure," Bernie replied. She was happy to have something to do with her hands while she went over in her head what she would say to Charley Lochte if and when she got the chance.

In the car on the way home they had come up with a plan. While she worked on the salad for dinner, Bernie went over it in her head. Trying to think through all the different ways it might go and how she should act and what she should say in each instance.

When Jane came into the kitchen, after setting up the surveillance system, she saw the look of intense concentration on Bernie's face. It struck her just how young the girl was and she began to have second thoughts about putting such a heavy burden on her. "Hey kiddo, you doing okay? You don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can figure something else out."

Turning from the counter where she was preparing the garlic bread Maura added, "Jane's right honey. We have other avenues we are pursuing. One of them is likely to turn up something. You don't have to do this if you're not comfortable with it."

"I can do it." Bernie replied confidently. "I want to do it. You think it's our best shot don't you Jane?"

As much as she might have liked to Jane found she couldn't lie to the girl. "Yes, I do. But just keep in mind. If it doesn't work out, if you don't get a chance to talk to Charley on your own or you don't think he's buying it, then don't push it. Like Maura said, this isn't our only option. Your safety is what's most important."

"I'll be careful, and you guys will be right in the next room. I'll yell if anything bad happens." She replied reasonably.

When the Lochte's arrived Maura showed them into the living room.

As she had about the hotel Roberta gushed about their home. "What a beautiful home you have? Look at that couch! Is that real leather? Charley look at that TV, wouldn't you love watching football on that?"

If the look on Charley's face was anything to go by he couldn't agree more.

Then Roberta spotted Bryleigh, who was just waking up from her nap, and rushed over to pick her up. Cooing to her and kissing her face. The baby started fussing almost immediately and Roberta became engrossed in trying to calm her, without much success.

Charley looked around the living room like a realtor trying to assess the value of a hot property for a sale. "That building I saw around the back of the house, do you own that too?" he asked.

"Yes, it a guest house, although Jane's mother Angela is living there right now." Maura replied.

"Must have a huge mortgage on a place like this." Charley continued clearly fishing.

"Oh no," Maura said, doing a good job of hiding her repugnance at the man's total lack of good manners. Then to help their plot along she added, "Actually, I never had a mortgage on the house. I bought it out right when I moved back to Boston to take the position of Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts."

"Must be nice," Charley said and there was no mistaking the bitterness in his tone.

Nonetheless Maura replied as if he was sincere. "It is nice isn't it? It's a great neighborhood, quiet with nice neighbors and the house was in pristine condition when I purchased it. It would have been hard to find a better home if we…" She let the sentence trail off. The plan had been for Bernie to let it slip that Jane and Maura wanted to adopt the children but Maura saw a chance to mention it and she went for it. Jane who was listening in from the kitchen was impressed. She doubted Maura would have been able to pull off such a move when they first met.

Charley took the bait. "You were thinking about moving?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh, I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything." Maura replied sounding flustered.

"Why would you want to move from such a nice place?" Charley pressed.

Maura did a masterful acting job, pretending she was reluctant to say more then finally giving in. "I really shouldn't have mentioned it. It's just that Jane and I have put in our application to adopt a child and when the Bernie and Bobby and Bryleigh came to live with us and we went so long without finding any living relatives… Well we got very attached and we were hoping to adopt them." Maura didn't have to fake the quiver in her voice or the tears in her eyes.

She gave herself a little shake and continued, "But now we've found you and your wife and they are going to be with family and that's a good thing right?" Again she didn't have to fake her obvious misgivings about that situation.

"Yeah, right." Charley said with a marked lack of enthusiasm in his voice and another calculating look in his eye.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners?" Maura said. "Can get either of you something to drink? We have wine, beer, soda, or bottled water."

Roberta looked up at the offer of something to drink. "Beer sounds great," she said then returned her attention to Bryleigh.

While Charley said, "You got anything harder?"

Maura was momentarily nonplussed but recovered quickly. "I have a full bar. What would you like?"

"Scotch and soda on the rocks."

"Coming right up." Maura said. She glanced at Bernie who had been sitting mostly unnoticed on the couch apparently playing some game on her phone. What she was actually doing was paying close attention to Maura's conversation with Charley. In her mind their conversation confirmed Jane's suspicion that Charley would be more than willing to "sell" their right to guardianship of the children, despite the fact that she had caught him giving her the once over in a less than fatherly way.

She had also been watching Roberta with Bryleigh and wondered if she would fight Charley on that point. She seemed to be submissive to him but she also seemed to want the children very much, the younger children anyway. Bernie was fairly certain that Roberta would be perfectly happy to let Jane and Maura keep her.

As Maura left to get their drinks Bernie returned her glance with a minute nod. She was wondering how to approach Charley when he sat down beside her on the couch, much too close for her comfort.

"So, this is a nice place, do you like it here?" he asked, leaning even further into her space.

Bernie shifted away from him, she couldn't help herself. He really gave her the heebee jeebies. She responded nonetheless. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. Jane and Maura are nice. They bought us some cool stuff."

"Like that phone?" he asked, looking at the iPhone X she was holding.

"Yeah, it's great. It has all sorts of cool apps and fun games. They bought me a new computer for school too," she replied.

"So you would have liked to stay here. Dr. Isles said they were going to adopt the three of you."

Bernie was grateful, Charley seemed intent on making it easy for her. "Yeah, that would have been okay. But I'm think my folks wouldn't have been too happy about it."

Charley looked genuinely surprised by this statement. "Why wouldn't your parents want you to be with people who take good care of you and buy you things. Is it because they're lesbians? Did your folks disagree with that kind of lifestyle?"

"Nah, Mom and Dad were cool with that. Mom always said you love who you love. What matters most is that you're a good person. That's kind of the problem."

Bernie lowered her voice and glanced towards the kitchen as if she was afraid Jane or Maura might overhear what she was saying. "I'm not so sure Jane and Maura are good people."

Charley looked even more surprised by this and perhaps just a bit intrigued. "What makes you say that?" he asked. Glancing towards the kitchen himself.

"Well, Daddy always said a good person does the right thing even when it's hard. You know, never take short cuts always follow the rules. That kind of stuff." Bernie got a lump in her throat and had to take a moment to recover as this was, in fact, something her father had said often, especially when it had come to deciding whether or not Bernie should testify against Fuentes.

Charley, who was eager to hear what she had to say before Maura returned with their drinks, prompted her to continue by saying, "Well sure," as if that was the credo he lived by.

Having recovered her composure, Bernie went on. "Well, the other day I couldn't sleep so I came downstairs to get a snack. Jane and Maura thought I was in bed asleep. I overheard them talking about one of their cases. Jane was saying how she knew this guy Richards had killed his girlfriend but they didn't have the evidence they needed to get a conviction. She said she knew he was going to go out and hurt another woman and how wrong that was. Then Maura said maybe she could help out like she had on some of their other cases. She said she could 'find' Richards' DNA under the victim's fingernails. And Jane said she thought that was the right thing to do to get Richards off the streets."

Charley had trouble hiding his smile as he listened to Bernie's story. This was perfect, he thought. Clearly these women had no trouble bending the rules to get what they wanted and what they wanted was to adopt these three brats. All he had to do was make them an offer and not only would he not have to deal with raising someone else's brats but he would make a lot of money off of the deal as well. Sure, Roberta wouldn't be happy about it but she would do whatever he told her to. Maybe if she didn't give him too hard a time about it he'd buy that diamond engagement ring he'd been promising her for the last 10 years, maybe.

Of course he'd have to check out the story. He doubted this little girl would be involved in trying to trick him but still better safe than sorry. There was a reason he wasn't in jail right now despite any number of illegal activities he was involved in.

He got up from the couch without another word to Bernie. She had served her purpose and he had no more use for her. It would have been fun to make her his plaything if they had taken custody of the three brats but money was much more important to him. If he tried anything now it might screw up the whole deal.

Watching him go Bernie breathed a sigh of relief. Her part in the sting was done and if the way Charley was googling something on his own phone was any indication she had been successful. Now it was up to the adults to play their part.

Fortunately, Jane had expected Charley to check up on their story. The Richards case was a recent case they had solved when they had actually found DNA under the victims fingernails. The victim had been the daughter of a Massachusetts state senator so the case had been all over the news. A quick Google search would yield any number of news stories that would appear to confirm what Bernie had told Charley.

Jane and Maura waited until they saw the sly, scheming look on Charley's face before they entered. Maura was carrying a bottle of beer in one hand and Charley's scotch and soda in the other. Jane had a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Sorry that took so long. I had to check on dinner while I was in the kitchen. It should be ready in a few minutes." Maura said handing the Lochte's their respective drinks.

"No problem," Charley said magnanimously, "Roberta was having a great time with the baby and I've been getting to know Bernie." He winked conspiratorially at the girl making her shudder involuntarily.

Maura had convinced Roberta to give her the baby when she handed her the beer and Bryleigh settled down almost instantly, playing with Maura's necklace and burbling happily. Roberta switched her attentions to Bobby. She sat on the floor beside him with her beer in one hand and the other rubbing the boy's back. She tried unsuccessfully, to get him to tell her what he was building with his Legos but he just shifted away from her overly familiar touch and continued playing.

After a while he looked to the couch where Jane and Maura were sitting chatting with Charley. "Jay come play," his tone clearly showing he was put out she that hadn't already joined him as she usually did when he was playing with his Legos.

Jane hesitated for a moment, reluctant to leave the conversation with Charley who had been subtly trying to turn the conversation in a direction which would allow him to test the waters regarding an offer to sell their guardianship rights to the children without actually saying anything that might incriminate him.

Jane was anxious to move the conversation along but at the same time she knew she couldn't appear that way or he might sense their trap. In the end, Jane decided patience was a virtue in this situation. Not to mention, she felt the need to rescue Bobby from Roberta's unwanted attentions.

"Sure thing buddy, what are we building today," Jane asked rising from the couch to join the Bobby and Roberta on the floor but before she made it over to them a timer went off in the kitchen.

"Sounds like the lasagna is ready, sorry little man, we'll play later." Jane said scooping the boy up from the floor and throwing him over her shoulder. "Let's go eat!"

Bobby giggled and shouted "Yay, lasana! Yum!" in Jane's ear.

"Maybe this time you'll get more of it in your mouth than you do on your face," Jane replied tickling the boy mercilessly before she pulled him from her shoulder and placed him in his booster seat.

Smiling affectionately at their antics, Maura rose from the couch and turned to Roberta and Charley, "I hope lasagna is okay. Jane's mother actually made it and she is a superb cook."

"We love Italian food. Don't we Charley," Roberta enthused

Charley said," Lasagna is fine," in a tone that made it seem like having to eat it would be a big imposition.

When they entered the dining room Maura made sure to seat the Lochte's at the places they had chosen for them ahead of time. Not only did their seats face one of the home security system cameras but she had made sure that their place settings were slightly different from everyone else's so there would be no mistakes when it came time for collecting DNA samples from them.

Maura put Bryleigh in her highchair between herself and Roberta. She felt bad subjecting the baby to more of the woman's attentions but she and Jane had agreed that it might be best to keep her distracted during dinner. It was clear that Charley was the one who made the decisions in the family but they didn't want her catching on to his intentions and trying to dissuade him from making an offer.

* * *

Dinner went about as well as could be expected. Roberta insisted on being allowed to feed Bryleigh her dinner, making the argument that she needed the practice before the kids came to live with them. Both the comment and the mess she made of the job made Maura wince but she refrained from saying anything or stepping in to help.

Charley kept up his attempts to feel out Jane and Maura on how they might receive his offer. He even went so far as to mention the Richards case. "So, I read about the Richards case the BPD solved recently. Did you two work on that case."

"Yes, Jane was the lead detective and I did the autopsy on the victim." Maura responded.

"Sounds like the case was going nowhere before you found that DNA on the girlfriend," he pushed.

"Yeah, well that guy was guilty as sin. We just kept pushing until we found what we needed to prove it." Jane said with just a touch of aggression in her tone.

"That so?" Charley asked, giving her a skeptical look.

Jane gave him a long look before responding, "Well, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. You know, to get the right outcome…if you know what I mean."

"Yeah," Charley said with a self-satisfied smirk. "Yeah, I think I know exactly what you mean."

After that Charley seemed to let it go but Jane was sure he was just biding his time. When dinner was over, per a pre-arranged plan, Bernie asked to be excused.

Maura said, "Sure sweetheart, would you mind taking your brother and sister up and getting them ready for bed? I'll be up to help as soon as I get the table cleared."

Bernie, rolled her eyes as if she'd rather have dental surgery then have to get her siblings ready for bed. "Fine. Come on baby brother," she said, going to get Bryleigh out of her highchair.

"Roberta, why don't you go give her a hand," Charley said, eager to get her out of the way.

As Bernie and Roberta left with the younger children, Maura glanced at Jane, a silent understanding passing between the two that this was the moment they had been waiting for. She rose and started clearing the table, starting with Roberta and Charley's plates and glasses. "Charley would you like a cup of coffee or…"

"I'll take another scotch and soda," he replied, interrupting her.

"Certainly, Jane?"

"I think I'll have the same," Jane replied smiling at Charley. She didn't really want the drink but thought it might put Charley at ease if she joined him in a drink. She hoped Maura would make hers considerably weaker than Charley's.

"So," Charley began, not even waiting for Maura to return with their drinks. "Looks like you and your wife have become very attached to my nieces and nephew."

Jane tried not to gag at his suddenly referring to them as his nieces and nephew. Was he seriously trying to improve his selling position by pretending he felt any sort of connection with the children.

"That's true, we'll miss them quite a bit. But it's good to know they'll be with relatives who care about them." Jane said, giving Charley a look that said she knew exactly what he was up to and that two could play that game.

Charley grinned a wolfish grin, this was exactly what he was hoping for. It confirmed his suspicions that Jane and Maura would be willing to play ball with him. "Maybe we could work something out so that you didn't have to miss them so much…or at all."

"You mean like visitation rights?" Jane asked purposely misinterpreting Charley's offer. She needed him to be the one to make the offer. If she was seen to be leading him in anyway he could cry entrapment and their efforts would be for naught.

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of you and your wife getting to adopt the children, as you had hoped, and you never hear from us again." Charley said.

He still hadn't asked for money and Jane knew she couldn't be the one to suggest any kind of compensation. "Why would you agree to that? Clearly your wife is excited to get custody of the children."

"You bring up a good point. Roberta would be heartbroken if you all were to keep the children." Charley managed to look as if he was concerned for his wife's happiness. "But with the right…incentive…I'm sure she could get over her heartbreak soon enough."

"Incentive?" Jane asked, thinking _come on damn it just say it. Put a number on it you scumbag._

"How 'bout, oh I don't know, let's say a hundred K?"

"A hundred K!" Jane exclaimed, not having to feign her shock. She had been expecting him to ask for half that amount tops. "You want us to pay you a hundred thousand dollars to give up your rights to the children?"

"Are you gonna try to tell me you can't afford it?" Charley sneered, a nasty expression on his face.

"That's not, I just.." Jane was nearly incoherent with rage and it took everything she had not to punch the greedy sleaze in the face.

Fortunately, Maura returned at that moment with their drinks and a determined look on her face. "We accept," she said firmly.

"Maura, a hundred thousand dollars!?" Jane had gotten herself back under control but figured at this point she needed to keep up her shocked and outraged act or it might tip Charley off that something was amiss.

"He's right, Jane, we can afford it. Are you saying the children aren't worth it?" Maura raised an eyebrow at her wife.

Jane took a deep breath calming herself. "I'm sorry, you're right sweetheart."

Charley smirked at her. He had assumed Jane "wore the pants" in this marriage but maybe he had been mistaken. Either way, it looked like he was about to come into a big payday and he was going to do it by giving up something he never wanted in the first place. Sure Roberta wouldn't be happy about it but She'd have hundred thousand reasons to forgive him.

Maura turned her gaze from her wife back to Charley. "Do you need to talk to your wife about this?" She knew it would be better if they could get both Charley and Roberta on camera agreeing to the payoff.

"She'll do whatever _**I**_ tell her to do." Charley said, giving Jane a smug look.

"Still, I'd feel better hearing it from her. I wouldn't want her divorcing you and coming after the children in a year or two. Why don't you call her down and we can discuss it with her?" Maura said, easily stepping into the roll of lead negotiator with Charley. In spite of the situation, Jane couldn't help but be a bit turned on watching her work.

"Fine!" Charley huffed. "Berta! Get down here. I got something to tell you," he shouted in the direction of the dining room door, not bothering to even go to the bottom of stairs.

In a few moments Roberta appeared in the dining room. She looked nervously at her husband. "What is it Charley? I was singing the baby a lullaby."

"Yeah, well, don't go getting attached to them kids now." Charley said tersely.

"Why not Charley?" Roberta asked tearing up. "You said, we could come up here and check them out and see if they was worth anything. They're good kids Charley, you could have a son and I could have a baby girl…"

This little speech made both Jane and Maura sick to their stomachs but they managed to keep quiet about it.

"Yeah well it turns out they are worth something. They worth a hundred K if we let this lovely couple adopt them."

Roberta's mouth dropped open, "A hundred K, you mean they're willing to pay us a hundred thousand dollars if we agree to let them adopt my cousin's kids."

"That's exactly what I mean?" Charley said, grinning at his wife expression.

Roberta teared up again but this time it wasn't sadness, "Oh Charley, think what we could do with that kind of money, we could travel, and fix up the house, you could get that speed boat you always wanted!" Apparently Roberta's affection for the children was easily supplanted by her desire for material things.

Charley turned back to Jane and Maura, "I don't suppose you have that kind of cash sitting around the house."

"No," Maura replied, "I assume you won't take a check."

"Too traceable," Charley shot back.

"Fine, I can call my banker tonight and have the cash ready for you first thing tomorrow morning. Shall we bring it by the hotel for you or would you prefer to meet here." Maura was all business now. She wanted to get these people out of her house as soon as possible.

"We'll stop by here on our way out of town." Charley said.

"Excellent, I'll also have my lawyer draw up the necessary documents for you to relinquish any claim you have to the children. You can sign it when you pick up your money. Say 9:30?"

"Excellent," Charley replied, mimicking Maura's no nonsense tone. "We'll see you then."

Jane showed them to the door and sagged against it when she had closed it behind them.

Recovering herself she walked back into the dining room where she found Maura slumped in one of the chairs at the table. "You were magnificent there at the end. I was so shocked at the amount he asked for I almost blew it."

Maura, smiled weakly up at her and taking her hand guided her into the seat beside hers. "Actually, I think your reaction help convince him we weren't trying to pull a quick on on him."

"A fast one," Jane corrected her with a smile. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Now we just have to get him on camera actually taking the payment and we're good to go." Maura said with just the tiniest bit of a sigh.

"I better call, Cavenaugh. He needs to know what's going on. I'm sure he can help us get cash for our "payoff" out of evidence and I want backup here in case things go sideways." Jane said, pulling her cell phone off her belt

"I'll call my lawyer and have him create a realistic looking document for them to sign." Maura added, getting up to get her own cell phone out of her purse.

Before either of them got any further Bernie appeared in the dining room looking anxious. "Did it work? Did he take the bait?" she asked.

Jane beckoned her over to them grinning. They both wrapped her up in a group hug. "It worked sweetie. Tomorrow we'll get them on tape accepting the payment and signing the document relinquishing their right to guardianship of you kids and we'll be able to arrest them."

"What if something goes wrong? What if they back out of the deal?" she was trembling at the thought. Now that her role in the sting was over and the pressure was off her confident demeanor was crumbling and she was second guessing herself.

"You didn't see the way they were both salivating over the payoff. They'll come," Jane replied confidently.

"And if they don't, and we can't arrest them we should have more than enough on the video from this evening to block there application for custody of you and your brother and sister," Maura chimed in.

"Maura and I still have some things to arrange but it's been a long day, why don't you go up to bed." Jane said giving the girl a squeeze and pointing her in the direction of the stairs.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight," she said.

"I understand," Maura agreed, kissing her cheek as she headed out of the dining room, "but try anyway. Tomorrow's another important day. Jane and I will be up soon."

Bernie nodded and left the room.

Jane came up behind Maura and wrapped her arms around her. Maura leaned back relaxing against her wife. "She's not the only one who's going to have trouble sleeping tonight." Maura sighed.

She could feel Jane nod her head. "I have to say, watching you take charge with Charley there at the end was kind of turning me on," Jane whispered in to Maura's ear, nibbling nibble on her earlobe.

Maura shivered at the feel of her wife's breath against her ear and turned in her arms. "Well since neither one of us is going to be able to sleep tonight, maybe we should do something about that," she said in a sultry tone that Jane felt throbbing between her legs.

"Give me 15 minutes to call Cavenaugh," she said breathlessly, "I'll meet you upstairs."

"Fifteen minutes is more than enough time to call my lawyer. I'll be waiting for you upstairs." She went up on her tiptoes pressing a passionate kiss to Jane's lips and headed out of the dining room.


	25. Chapter 25

Author's note: Wow, apparently I'm on a roll with these updates. We're closing in on the end. There's probably only a chapter or two left. I may revisit this universe in a sequel some time in the future but I've got nothing planned at the moment. In fact, my next story will be a Supergirl story.

There's not much I need to tell you about this one so I'll just remind you that I do not own Rizzoli and Isles and I make no money on this story so please don't sue me.

One little fun fact, the wooden spoon story at the end is based on a true story. I saw it happen to a friend of mine.

Enjoy this chapter and if you feels so inclined let me know what you think of it.

* * *

 _She could feel Jane nod her head. "I have to say, watching you take charge with Charley there at the end was kind of turning me on," Jane whispered in to Maura's ear, nibbling nibble on her earlobe._

 _Maura shivered at the feel of her wife's breath against her ear and turned in her arms. "Well since neither one of us is going to be able to sleep tonight, maybe we should do something about that," she said in a sultry tone that Jane felt throbbing between her legs._

 _"Give me 15 minutes to call Cavenaugh," she said breathlessly, "I'll meet you upstairs."_

 _"Fifteen minutes is more than enough time to call my lawyer. I'll be waiting for you upstairs." She went up on her tiptoes pressing a passionate kiss to Jane's lips and headed out of the dining room._

* * *

First thing the next morning Jane had Angela take all three children out for breakfast followed by a trip to the New England Aquarium with instructions not to return until they had heard from either herself or Maura. Bernie had been bitterly disappointed and had argued that she had been part of the sting operation so should be allowed to see it through to the arrest of the Lochte's but both Jane and Maura had been firm. It was too dangerous.

Jane would have preferred Maura go with them but she knew better than to even suggest it to her wife. Besides, while they could explain away the absence of the children it would have looked suspicious if Maura weren't there, especially since she was the one with the money.

It wasn't that Jane was expecting trouble but she had seen too many arrests go sideways to risk putting her 13 year old daughter at risk.

Shortly after Angela and the kids had left, Frank arrived with the money from evidence. After some debate with Lt Cavanaugh the previous evening, it was decided he would stay in the house with Jane and Maura. Jane had argued that Charley would smell a trap if there was anyone else in the house, even if it was her brother but Cavanaugh had refused to budge. He had been none too happy with them for pulling the first part of the operation without informing him, although he admitted he probably would have refused to let them go through with it if they had asked them for his permission. Now it was his operation and he was determined that they would follow his rules and one of his rules was that Jane and Maura would have backup in the house with them.

They also had SWAT team members stationed both in the garage and the guest house. Cavanaugh wasn't taking any chances with the lives of his top homicide detective and the Medical Examiner for the whole damn state.

In the end, it was Frank himself who came up with a solution that Jane, begrudgingly, agreed to. He was wearing the uniform of a bank guard. They would explain that he had delivered the money. They had even managed to procure an armored truck from one of the local banks. Another police officer, also dressed as a bank guard, would remain in the vehicle until the Lochtes were inside the house.

Charley and Roberta arrived at 9:25 AM. Maura had told them the bank would open at 9:00 AM and that it would take roughly 20 minutes for them to get the money to her house and handle the necessary paperwork.

Charley parked in the driveway next to the armored truck. He eyed it suspiciously, but the guard inside, who was apparently reading a newspaper, looked up and waved at them as if he didn't have a care in the world and then went back to reading his paper. In the end, Charley decided a hundred K was too much money to leave behind just because he was feeling a bit jumpy.

They went up to the door and knocked and Jane answered, scowling at them. She figured this was appropriate because even if she was a dirty cop she would still be upset over the amount of money Charley had asked for. "Come in," she growled at them.

Charley entered before his wife, "Don't look so upset Jane. This is a win win situation for all of us. You get to keep those adorable children and we get lots and lots of money." Jane wanted to wipe the smug look off of his face right then and there but they had to go through the motions. The Lochtes had to actually accept the payment if they wanted to arrest them.

She made no reply but rather turned on her heal and lead them into the living room but not before noticing that Roberta seemed to have gotten over her grief at losing the children rather quickly. She was all smiles and eager anticipation. Apparently, a night contemplating everything they could buy with a hundred thousand dollars had cheered her up considerably.

When they entered the living room and saw Frank standing there beside Maura holding a brief case. Charley stopped dead in his tracks. "What the hell is going on, who is he?" He asked jabbing a finger in Frank's direction.

Maura looked at Charley with a puzzled expression as if she couldn't comprehend his confusion. "He's a guard from my bank." she replied, "Surely you didn't think they'd send a hundred thousand dollars across town without an armed guard?"

She made the very idea sound utterly preposterous and Charley backed down. "You didn't say anything about an armed guard," he muttered petulantly.

"I said the bank would be sending the money and the necessary paperwork. Did you think they'd be sending a teller in an Uber?" Maura asked with just a hint of derision in her tone.

Jane and Frank both had a hard time not laughing out loud at the joke or staring in open mouth shock at the fact that Maura was the one making it.

Charley turned red and Jane could tell he wanted to curse Maura out but apparently the prospect of being about to get his hand on all that money helped him curb his tongue. "Whatever, let's do this."

Turning to Frank he said, "Open it up. I want to count it."

Without a word Frank went over to the coffee table, sat the brief case down and opened it up.

Charley and Roberta both walked over to the coffee table as if they were in a trance. "Look at it Charley," Roberta said reverently. "Have you ever seen so much money in one place?"

Charley ignored her and sat down on the sofa by the coffee table. He started picking up the strapped bundles of bills. He didn't count each bill but he did count the bundles and made sure that each of them actually had bills throughout and not just on the top and bottom of the stack.

When he was done Roberta reached out to pick up on of the stacks but Charley slammed the briefcase shut before she could, just barley missing her fingers.

"Looks good. You got something you need us to sign." He was clearly impatient to be done with this now that he had the money in his hands. He wouldn't be comfortable until they were back on the road to Connecticut.

Maura handed a folder to Jane with the legal document that said Charley and Roberta renounced their guardianship rights to the Kinney children. They were authentic her lawyer had e-mailed them late the night before. Jane handed it to Charley along with a pen. "You both need to sign at the bottom of the second page."

Charley took the pen and signed where Jane had indicated without bothering to read the document. Then handed the pen to Roberta who did the same. The money was all they cared about. They could care less what the document actually said.

Charley stood up grinning, "Come on Berta, let's get out of here. We've got some shopping to do!"

Roberta squealed happily, "Oh Charley, I can't wait!"

They headed for the door, Jane and Frank right behind them. They were out the door and half way to their car before they looked up and saw the line of policemen waiting for them outside, guns drawn and pointed at them.

Jane and Frank had stayed at the door, out of the line of fire. Jane had half expected Charley to pull a gun when he saw the cops outside but he just dropped the briefcase and put his hand over his head as instructed by the SWAT team leader.

To Jane's utter shock and amazement, it was Roberta who put up a fight, bolting away from the policemen and pulling a small revolver out of her purse. She even managed to get off a wild shot straight up in the air before one of the police officers pursuing her tackled her to the ground. Jane had to give her points for her balls, trying to out run the cops while wearing stiletto heals.

When both of the Lochtes were in cuffs Jane, Maura, and Frank came out of the house. Roberta spit at them while Charley just stared at them sullenly.

The SWAT team leader turned to Jane, "Sargent Detective Rizzoli, would you like to do the honors."

"I think I would, thank you Sargent Rogers?" she replied with a bright smile at the woman.

She turned to the Lochtes with a much more serious expression, "Charles and Roberta Lochte, you are under arrest for three counts of the illegal sale of a child, You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

"You won't get away with this." Charley hissed. "It was entrapment."

"Actually, it wasn't," Maura said walking up to them now that Charley and Roberta were in custody. "You were the one who made the initial offer, you were also the one who set the terms of the agreement. Entrapment requires that we lead you to make the offer in someway. We never mentioned paying you to give up your guardianship rights in any way whatsoever."

He tried a different tack, "You might want to rethink arresting us. I know things about you that could get you in a lot of trouble?"

"You're referring to the Richards case?" Jane asked, smirking at him. "Our part in bringing that scumbag to justice may have been misrepresented to you by Bernie?"

He scowled at them both but clearly wasn't ready to give up. "How can you charge us with selling a child we didn't even have custody of yet?"

"Did you or did you not accept a hundred thousand dollars in exchange for not pursuing guardianship of your nieces and nephew" Jane asked not trying to mask her disgust.

"Yes but…"

"Give it up Charley, the two of you are going down for this." Jane said pushing Charley toward the squad car waiting to take him and Roberta to BPD.

* * *

The next day Charley and Roberta were cooling their heals in their respective holding cells at BPD waiting for a bail hearing, while Jane and Maura were hosting an impromptu celebration at their home.

That morning, the waiting period while DCF looked for relatives of the Kinney children had expired. Jane and Maura had been there waiting to put in their application for adoption. Although it would take at least another few months for the paperwork to make through the DCF bureaucracy, Matt, their caseworker, had assured them that everything he had seen during his home visits while they had been fostering the three siblings made him confident the adoption would be approved. That was certainly what he planned to recommend.

Jane had been concerned that the somewhat dangerous nature of their jobs, hers in particular, might count against them. Matt assured her that folks with jobs just as dangerous were approved to adopt children all the time. As they had seen with the Kinney's, having a "safe" job was no guarantee of longevity. The important thing was finding a loving and nurturing environment for the children, Jane and Maura, and their extended family, provided that in spades.

Jane was happy to hear that but she was still concerned about the dangers of her job. Now more than ever she had people counting on her to come home safely at the end day. She couldn't bear the thought of putting their children through the loss of yet another parent much less leaving Maura alone to raise them. She knew she'd have to do something about it sooner or later but now was not the time. Now was a time to celebrate.

Jane sat on the couch beside Maura with a beer in her hand watching Angela and Ron on the floor with Bobby and Bryleigh. Ron and Bobby were playing with some old matchbook cars that had belonged to Jane, Frank, and Tommy when they were kids. Angela had Bryleigh in her lap and was showing her a picture book with all kinds of animals in it.

At the dining room table Korsak and Kiki were showing Bernie and Kent pictures of a stray cat Vince had taken in, a beautiful long haired black cat who had just had a litter of kittens and Korsak was looking for good homes for them once they were weaned.

"They're so cute!" Bernie squealed with such childish delight that it made Jane glad to know she handed lost the ability to be a child after everything that had happened to her. Jane found herself wondering what Bass and Jo Friday would think of adding a kitten to their family.

Kent was saying, "Well I guess you're going to have to consider a name change, aren't you now? I mean Kojak, is hardly an appropriate name for such a pretty little girl."

"Well, it can be hard to tell the sex of a long haired cat." Vince said slightly defensively, his face turning a little pink in his embarrassment.

Kiki chuckled and bumped shoulders with her husband. "He thought it was hilarious to name a long haired cat after a famous bald man." She leaned in and kissed him affectionately on the cheek, when he harrumphed at her words.

"Well I've got the perfect solution then," Kent exclaimed with glee. "You can call her Sinead! You know for Sinead O'Connor, a famous bald woman."

Korsak, hummed thinking it over, "Sinead, I like it!"

"Who's Sinead O'Connor?" Bernie asked looking between Kent and Korsak.

Kiki laughed

Kent said, "Ouch," with a pained expression on his face.

"Better get used to that, Kent. It only gets worse as time goes by," Korsak said, patting Kent's shoulder sympathetically.

"Never mind, I'll Google it," Bernie said, when it appeared she wasn't going to get an answer from any of the adults.

About that time the doorbell rang and Jane got up to answer it. It was Frank and Nina, the latter carrying their son while the former was toting a diaper bag, a portable play pen, and various toys.

"Here, let me help you with that," Jane said.

"Thanks," Frank said, grateful for the assistance, until he saw Jane take the baby from Nina and walk off toward the living room. "Not funny Jane!" He yelled, scowling at her retreating form.

Nina just laughed and took the diaper bag and a few of the toys out of his hands.

They walked into the living room and Frank was preparing to give his sister a hard time for her rudeness when he saw Jane sitting on the couch beside Maura and talking quietly to his son.

"Hello, baby Barry, how are you today little man. How's my handsome nephew today. Has your Daddy told you all about your namesake? They were great friends but he was _my_ partner you know. I've got so many stories to tell you about Barry Frost, when you get older. He would be so proud to know you have his name. He would have loved you and you would have loved your uncle Barry. Yes you would have. He was a handsome man just like you."

Watching them, Frank was getting choked up. Seeing this, Nina went over to him and gave him a quick hug then turned back towards the living room. "So Maura, when you called you said this was an impromptu celebration. I got the impression it wasn't just about sending the Lochtes to jail. Am I right?"

All activity ceased as everyone in the house looked to Maura for the answer to Nina's question.

Maura looked to Jane who gave her a smile and a nod.

"You are right Nina. We're celebrating because Jane and I put in our application to adopt Bernie, Bobby and Bryleigh today!" she replied, beaming.

The house erupted with a chorus of congratulations.

"Yay!"

"That's great!"

"I'm so happy for all of you!"

"It's not a done deal yet," Jane said, "We still have to wait a few months while they process our application but our DCF caseworker says he intends to recommend they approve our application and he is confident it will be approved."

Turning to Bernie, who had tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her face, Kent asked, "Are you sure you're ready to be an official member of this motley crew? Once they suck you in it's nigh on impossible to get back out."

"That sounds perfect to me!" Bernie replied enthusiastically. "We never really had an extended family before. I think I'm going to like it."

"Let me hear you say that again when you go out on your first date and everyone in this room is all up in your business," Jane said laughing at the alarmed look on Bernie's face.

"Now that everyone is here let's eat," Maura announced. "It's nothing fancy. We didn't have time for fancy. We'll just put the food out on the table and you can all serve yourselves buffet style. Jane, Angela would you help me?"

Jane went to hand Barry back to his mother.

"Jane, can I talk to you for minute before we eat?" Nina asked as she took her son from Jane and handed him to his father.

"Sure, let's go into the office," Jane replied. "Maura, I'll be in to help you in a minute."

Maura looked up and saw Jane heading into their home office with Nina. "Okay, don't be too long."

Jane waved over her shoulder as she ushered Nina into the office in front of her. "What's up?"

"I know we don't really need it anymore," Nina began, "but I got the results back on my background search on Charley and Roberta. I didn't find anything much on Roberta, speeding tickets, a drunk and disorderly conduct charge that was dismissed back when she was in her twenties. Charley was another matter. He definitely had a juvenile record. He got into some trouble when he was in middle school and junior high bullying other kids, stealing some kid's bike. When he was sixteen he was charged with sexually assaulting a twelve year old girl. Apparently, they were going to charge him as an adult then something happened. The charges were dropped and the record was sealed"

Jane looked grave, "Thank God these two didn't get custody of the children!" She shook herself to dispel the images of what might have happened to all three children if that had been the case. "Fortunately, I don't think we'll need to worry about either one of them getting out of jail in a long, long time. Maura got the results back on their finger prints and DNA. We found they were both linked to a string of armed robberies in Connecticut and Charley's DNA was connected to at least one unsolved rape. Once Massachusetts is done with them on the charges of illegal sale of children. Connecticut will get their shot at them for all their other crimes."

"It seems like things are finally turning around for those three kids," Nina said.

"Amen to that! From your lips to God's ears," Jane replied fervently.

"They're luck to have you and Maura. You know that, right Jane?" Nina grabbed Jane's forearm and gave it a squeeze.

Jane smiled at her gratefully. "I think we're all lucky to have each other. They really are great kids. I feel like we were meant to be a family." Jane was getting choked up.

Feeling the need to change the serious turn the conversation had taken Nina said, "Come on, we better gat back out there before Angela comes after us with a wooden spoon."

Jane chuckled, "Did Frank tell you about the time we were chasing each other around the kitchen and she hit him with a wooden spoon and it broke?"

Nina laughed too, "He said you both laughed hysterically until she threatened to use a metal spoon the next time."


	26. Chapter 26

Author's Note: Well here it is, the final chapter and a nice long one at that. The middle part of this chapter may seem a little out of left field. It's a crazy little plot bunny that has been in the back of my mind since before I started writing this story.

I almost didn't include it but it actually became the catalyst for the whole Bernie/Bobby/Bryleigh storyline so I wanted to honor that. Besides I still like the idea. So you can blame Detective O'Connor on that crazy plot bunny.

I'm marking this one complete. I don't have any plans, at this time, to continue this story but if I do, I'll do it in a sequel. I'll leave a note here for all of you who are following this story.

One last time (in this story anyway): I don't own Rizzoli and Isles and I'm not making any money by writing this story.

FYI, _italics_ indicate either a flashback or someone's thoughts.

Enjoy!

* * *

" _It seems like things are finally turning around for those three kids," Nina said._

" _Amen to that! From your lips to God's ears," Jane replied fervently._

" _They're lucky to have you and Maura. You know that, right Jane?" Nina grabbed Jane's forearm and gave it a squeeze._

 _Jane smiled at her gratefully. "I think we're all lucky to have each other. They really are great kids. I feel like we were meant to be a family." Jane was getting choked up._

 _Feeling the need to change the serious turn the conversation had taken Nina said, "Come on, we better gat back out there before Angela comes after us with a wooden spoon."_

 _Jane chuckled, "Did Frank tell you about the time we were chasing each other around the kitchen and she hit him with a wooden spoon and it broke?"_

 _Nina laughed too, "He said you both laughed hysterically until she threatened to use a metal spoon the next time."_

* * *

Jane was amazed at how quickly things had moved. Two day's after the successful sting operation had put both the Lochtes in jail she had spoken to Lt. Cavanaugh about her concerns, regarding the dangers of her job.

 _Jane took a deep breath and let it out slowly then knocked on frame the lieutenant's open door. "You got a minute sir?"_

 _The lieutenant looked up from whatever he had been typing on his computer. "Sure Rizzoli, come in." Jane came in and closed the door behind her._

 _Cavanaugh raised his eyebrows at that but didn't say anything about it. "Take a seat Sergeant. What can I do for you?"_

 _Jane sat down and immediately began to fidget in her seat, uncertain how to proceed. "Things are about to change for Maura and me sir. We've put in our application to adopt the Kinney children."_

" _That's great news. You and Dr. Isles will make great parents. Those kids are very lucky. We both know what usually happens to siblings in the system, especially when one or more of them is older." Cavanaugh said. Jane was still struggling with how to raise her concerns so he filled the lull in their conversation trying to guess at why she was in his office. "It's a big responsibility taking on three orphans. You ready for that?"_

" _Yeah, I mean I think so but," Jane took a moment to collect herself. "Here's the thing. Now that we're about to adopt these kids I'm thinking about my job and how dangerous it is. I just, I don't think I can justify staying in a job this dangerous. Those kids have lost enough already. I can't, I won't, do anything that might put them at a greater risk of losing another parent. Don't get me wrong, I love being a detective and I love working homicide, I just think it's time for me to find something else to do." Her shoulders slumped as she said this._

 _It made Jane miserable to even think about leaving BPD. She loved working with Maura, Frank, NIna and all the detectives in homicide bringing murderers to justice but she was a mother now and her kids had to be her first priority. "I'm really sorry, it probably seems ungrateful after you gave me the Sergeant position in Homicide. I mean if you hadn't I would have gone to Quantico and I probably never would have gotten together with Maura. You are pretty much responsible for the best thing that ever happened to me and here I am just throwing away the opportunity you gave me." Jane realized she was rambling and paused taking a breath to regroup._

 _She was shocked and more than a bit hurt when she looked up to see Cavanaugh grinning at her._

" _Your timing is perfect Rizzoli," Cavanaugh said still smiling at her._

" _Excuse me sir?" Jane asked confused._

 _He turned his computer screen towards her as he said, "You do remember the agreement we had when you decided not to go to the FBI and took the Sergeant position here in Homicide instead don't you?"_

" _Um," Jane searched her memory coming up with nothing until she looked at his computer screen and she couldn't believe she had forgotten. Of course it had been three years ago and a lot had happened since then, especially recently but looking at the document on the lieutenant's computer screen brought it all back. Written in bold black letters across the top of the screen was BPD Application for Retirement. Cavanaugh had told her when she took the job as the Homicide Division Sergeant that he wanted her to replace him as the Homicide Lieutenant when he retired. She had assumed that would be a long way down the road._

 _Cavanaugh watched as a myriad of emotions flashed across Jane's face; confusion, surprise, comprehension, and finally unadulterated joy. She was going to get to stay at BPD and have a job that kept her off the streets! Then something occurred to her. "Um, sir, I know you had me take the Lieutenant's exam back when I became a Sergeant but you never told me my results. I kind of assumed I must of tanked it. I think, maybe, that's why I forgot about your plan for me to take your job when you retired. I just figured I hadn't scored well enough."_

 _Cavanaugh first looked surprised then he looked chagrined. "Well I guess now I'm the one who should be embarrassed about forgetting. When your results came in we were in the middle of the Erickson case. So I put them aside to give to you later and then I forgot."_

 _Jane shuddered involuntarily at the reminder of the case, an entire family slaughtered and they'd had almost nothing to go on regarding the killer. The whole unit had been engaged in solving the case and Jane had been her usual obsessive self. If Cavanaugh had given her the test results at that time she probably wouldn't have remembered it._

" _So I take it I passed?" It was more a question than a statement._

" _You did more than pass, you aced it, highest score anyone ever got on it. You scored 99.5 percent you missed one part of a two part question out of total 100 questions on the test." He grinned at the shocked expression on her face. "I expected nothing less from you Rizzoli. Between that and your case closure rate, I got no arguments from the brass when I recommended you for the promotion despite the fact that there were a number of senior sergeants and a few lieutenants hoping to get a shot at running the Homicide Division."_

" _Wow, I didn't even think of that. I appreciate your confidence in me sir." Jane was truly humbled to be given what was arguably the most prestigious Lieutenant's position in all of BPD._

" _You'll catch a lot of flack from your peers over it. You'll have to be twice as good as everyone else to prove yourself," he warned._

" _So pretty much the way it's been my whole career." Jane replied good-naturedly._

 _Cavanaugh snorted and nodded, "Pretty much." His expression turned serious. "Jane, you are hands down the best cop this department has seen in quite some time. You could be the commissioner in the future it you want it."_

 _Jane waved her hand and made a pshh sound but somewhere in the back of her brain the words Boston Power Couple flashed in her mind as she thought of herself as the Boston Police Department Commissioner and Maura as the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth._

* * *

That had been a little over a month ago. Cavanaugh had stayed for a couple of weeks teaching her the ropes of her new job then he had quietly retired and here she was the Lieutenant in charge of the Homicide Division. One of her first acts as Lieutenant had been to choose a new sergeant for the division. She had bumped up Detective Jim Morgan. He had been one of Detective Crowe's buddies but once Crowe was out of the picture he had turned into a solid detective. Jane knew he would do a good job as Sergeant and her promoting him went a long way towards smoothing over any hard feelings that were still leftover with Crowe's cronies from when she had been promoted to Sergeant instead of him.

Of course that still left a vacancy in the division. Jane would have liked to give it to Riley Cooper but Lieutenant Cavanaugh had effectively taken the decision out of her hands. In one of his last acts as the division lieutenant he had hired a young detective from the Worcester police department, Devon O'Connor.

Jane had looked over his record and while it was okay it was hardly stellar. There was something in the way his evaluations were written that Jane couldn't quite put her finger on, as if whoever had written them had told the truth but not the whole truth. She'd seen that kind of thing before when a supervisor was trying to get rid of an employee who was a problem but hadn't done anything that could get them fired. You wrote their evaluations in such a way that they could get promoted out of your section but you couldn't be called on the carpet for writing a false evaluation. Jane didn't agree with the practice but she knew it happened.

Jane couldn't help but wonder if Cavanaugh was doing a favor for a friend of family member or perhaps repaying some sort of debt by taking this guy into the Homicide Division. There were certainly better choices available right there in BPD, Riley Cooper being a prime example.

Jane would have to worry about that later however. This afternoon she had much more important things to attend to. In fact, it was very inconvenient that Detective O'Connor was showing up today because this was the day the judge would make their adoption of the Kinney children official. They had an appointment with one of the family court judges at 3:00 that afternoon.

So she had asked Sergeant Detective Morgan to meet the new detective and show him around while she went to pick up Bernie from school a little early. Maura was picking up Bobby and Bryleigh from home so Angela could go into the Dirty Robber to set up for a big celebration after their appointment with the judge. Only family would be with them in the judge's chambers when they signed the papers but pretty much everyone they knew had been invited to the party at the Dirty Robber afterward.

* * *

At 2:00 PM Sergeant Morgan got the word from the security desk that Detective O'Connor was waiting for him in the lobby. As he exited the elevator into the lobby he saw a man he assumed was the new detective standing by the guard desk. O'Connor was young. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt with the name of some band Morgan had never heard of, and a black leather jacket. Morgan wondered if the kid had been in Vice in Worcester. Surely their homicide detectives didn't dress like this. He sighed to himself, knowing it would be his job to explain to the new detective why such attire was not appropriate for a homicide detective. O'Connor's first day wasn't getting off to a good start.

Morgan approached the security desk, and introduced himself to the new hire. As he did so, the front door opened drawing the attention of both men. Morgan smiled and gave a slight nod to Dr. Isles as she walked past them to the elevator pushing Bryleigh and Bobby in a double stroller. When he looked back to O'Connor the younger man was watching Dr. Isles with an expression that might best be described as predatory.

"Who's the MILF?" O'Connor asked, never taking his eyes off of Maura's backside.

"Excuse me?" Morgan asked, his voice a good octave higher than its normal level.

O'Connor looked back to him with a cocky grin. "It means Mother I'd Like to..."

"I know what it means!" Morgan interrupted him before he could finish the offensive explanation. _Who is this jerk and how did he get hired to work here,_ he thought. "You'd best get those thoughts out of your head right now! Dr. Isles is the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts...and she's married."

"Well I assumed she was married, what with the kids and all. That just makes it better. I am not looking for a long term relationship, just a little roll in the hay as they say. She is one good looking woman. I bet she's dynamite in the sack. And you know by the time they've been married long enough to have a couple of kids most women are ready for a little extramarital excitement." The elevator had come while he was talking and Maura had turned around to back the stroller into the compartment. O'Connor had caught her eye and given her a wink and a wave.

Morgan had grabbed his arm pulling his hand down. "Trust me buddy, that is not for you and let me warn you right here and now that this kind of behavior will not wash with the Lieutenant."

O'Connor pulled his arm away and sneered at Morgan, "Well it's none of his business now is it?"

"If you make unwanted advances on a woman, and I assure you they would be unwanted in this case, then that's sexual harassment, and that makes it the Lieutenant's business." Morgan shot back.

"And what if my advances aren't unwelcome?" O'Connor shot back with a smarmy grin.

"Oh trust me, they won't be welcomed," Morgan replied. "And even if they were Dr. Isles is married to a cop and the Lieutenant would never put up with that kind of behavior from her detectives."

"Wait, _**her**_ detectives. The Lieutenant is a woman?" O'Connor exclaimed in surprise. "Well isn't that special. That explains all the BS rules regarding sex."

"They're not, the Lieutenant's rules you idiot. They're BPD policy." Morgan was getting angrier by the moment and more than a bit worried. O'Connor was worse than Crowe had been and the truth was Morgan hadn't missed Darren Crowe even a little bit when he left. Crowe had created a toxic environment in the Homicide Division. Things had been much better since his departure and now it looked like Detective O'Connor might pull them right back down into that morass. He had to talk to Lieutenant Rizzoli to warn her as soon as possible.

"Come on," he said through gritted teeth, "I have to bring you to HR, there's some paperwork you have to fill out."

* * *

By the time Morgan and O'Connor returned from the Human Resources office Jane had returned with Bernie, who was in BRIC with her Aunt Nina asking for her help with an assignment for her Information Technology class. Jane was in her office trying to finish up some paperwork before taking off early for the visit with the judge and the party afterwards.

Morgan introduced Detective O'Connor to Frank and asked Frank to introduce him around then brief him on his open cases. Then he went to talk to Jane.

Knocking on her open office door he said, "Hey Lieu, you got a moment?"

Jane looked up from her computer screen. "Hi Jim, sure. What can I do for you?"

"Uh, well," Morgan began not sure how to broach the subject. "It's the new guy."

"Is he here? Bring him in. I want to meet him," Jane said looking out into the bullpen.

Morgan hesitated again and Jane gave him a curious look. Finally Morgan seemed to come to a decision. " Before you meet him I think you need to know what happened earlier. ". He proceeded to tell her everything that had happened when he went down to the lobby to meet Detective O'Connor sparing no detail.

By the time he was done Jane was fuming. "I knew something was off with this guy's evals. I can't believe Cavanaugh dropped this piece of crap on us."

The Sergeant could only nod in agreement.

Jane sighed then got a determined look on her face and said, "Come on, let's go deal with this right now."

She and Morgan went out into the bullpen to confront Detective O'Connor but he was nowhere to be found.

Morgan went over to Frank and asked him where O'Connor was.

Frank looked angry, "That twat?" Frank asked angrily. "He said you had told him he should go introduce himself to Dr Isles."

Morgan and Jane shared a worried glance. Jane made a mental note to ask Frank what O'Connor had done to piss him off but right now she needed to get down to the morgue ASAP.

"Jim, call down to HR and have them put a hold on this guy's paperwork. I'm going down to the morgue." Jane called over her shoulder as she hurried out of the bullpen.

"Will do Ma'am," Morgan responded crisply pulling out his phone to do as she asked.

* * *

Jane opted not to wait for the elevator, taking the stairs down to the morgue two at a time. She knew Maura could handle herself when it came to unwanted advances but that didn't change her instinct to protect her when she could.

As Jane approached the morgue she could hear Maura speaking. She could tell by the tone of her wife's voice that she was not in distress so she stopped to listen, hoping to find out if O'Connor was as bad as Sergeant Detective Morgan had said.

"As tempting as that offer is, Detective O'Connor, I'm going to have to decline. I'm married." Jane heard the subtle sarcasm in Maura's tone and couldn't help but grin. Maura had come a long way from the woman who used to miss the blatant sarcasm in her best friend's comments.

Unfortunately, it appeared the sarcasm was a bit too subtle for O'Connor to pick up on it. "Hey beautiful, I'm not looking for a long term relationship, just a little something on the side if you know what I mean."

Maura's tone turned as sharp as one of the scalpels she used in her work. "I know exactly what you mean but I do not cheat on my spouse." Jane and Maura had both learned it was best not to use the term "wife" with men like O'Connor. Invariably they seemed to think all lesbian women just needed the right man to change their sexual orientation and they were all convinced they were just the man for the job.

Any man with half a brain would have backed off at that point but, apparently, O'Connor was deficient in the brains department because he just kept pushing. "Aww, come on Doc, I saw you come in with your kids. We all know how it goes once a couple have kids. All of the sudden you and the hubby are too busy or too tired to get it on. Tell me that ain't so. But I can tell by looking at you that you're the kind of girl who likes her sack time. I'm just offering my services to…relieve that itch, so to speak."

Jane decided she'd heard more than enough. She needed to get in there before her wife used her exceptional skill with a scalpel to render Detective O'Connor incapable of carrying out his lewd and lascivious proposition. As she came through the door, O'Connor had his back to her. She caught Maura's eye and signaled her to keep quiet and let her deal with O'Connor.

Putting a pleasant smile on her face Jane said, "Hi Doctor Isles do you have the results…Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you had someone here."

O'Connor turned quickly, clearly startled by Jane's sudden appearance.

"Hi, I'm Jane." Jane extended her hand in greeting. "And you are?"

After a moment's hesitation, Detective O'Connor took her hand and shook it. "Devon O'Connor, I'm the new detective in Homicide," he replied smoothly as if he hadn't just been propositioning a married woman in their place of work.

"Wow, really?" Jane did a superb job of looking impressed.

"That's, right. Today's my first day." O'Connor said preening like a peacock trying to impress a peahen.

"Impressive, your first day and your already hitting on a married woman." Jane's tone had turned deadly serious.

Jane had expected the man to look embarrassed at the very least but instead he looked put out. "Look, I don't know who you think you are but this has nothing to do with you so why don't you just butt out."

Maura let out a very unladylike snort at that but O'Connor either didn't hear it or was to stupid to wonder what she found so amusing in his comment.

"Actually, it is my business," Jane said just barely managing to hold her temper. "You see, Doctor Isles is my wife."

Once again, if Jane had expected O'Connor to be embarrassed or worried or any other emotion that might have been considered normal in this situation, she was disappointed.

O'Connor just got a speculative look on his face then giving Jane a head to toe look that was way past inappropriate he said, "You're welcome to join us. When it comes to the bedroom three is definitely not a crowd."

"Oh my God!" Jane shouted at the sleazy slime ball. "Are you serious right now? How did you ever make it to the rank of detective? With an attitude like yours you should have been kicked off the force before you made it off of probation!" Jane was getting angrier by the second and for a moment Maura was worried that she might haul off and punch the man. Not that he didn't deserve it but she didn't want her wife to get suspended or worse yet fired so soon after becoming a Lieutenant.

Fortunately, with a Herculean effort, Jane managed to get her temper under control. "Maybe I should introduce myself." Jane said. "I'm Lieutenant Jane Rizzoli. Ah, I can see by your expression you know which Division I head up."

Finally, O'Connor had the sense to look nervous.

"I can assure _**Mister**_ O'Connor that you are not, the new detective in Homicide. I"m fairly certain you will not be holding any job with the Boston Police Department, with the possible exception of meter maid."

O'Connor went from nervous to angry in the space of a heartbeat. "You can't do that. My Uncle Sean, I mean Lieutenant Cavanaugh offered me the job."

"Well that explains a lot," Jane said derisively. "Your Uncle Sean doesn't work here anymore and even if he did there's no way he could pull you out of the shit hole you've dug for yourself today. I'd tell you to clear out your desk and leave but since you weren't even hear long enough to be assigned a desk you can just leave."

"You can't do that. I've already filled out the paperwork with HR. I have the right to protest my firing." O'Connor shot back a smug, self-satisfied grin sliding onto his face.

It didn't surprise Jane in the slightest that this sorry excuse for a human being knew exactly what his rights were when disciplinary action was taken against him. She was sure it had happened more than once in the past.

"About that," she said, unable to keep her own smug grin off her face. "There's this annoying little glitch with the BPD personnel system that actually came in very handy today. You see, it takes the system a full 48 hours to process new hires before they appear on the rolls. At any point up until that time the paperwork on a new hire can be removed from the system and it is legally as if they were never entered. I had Sergeant Detective Morgan place a hold on your paperwork before I came down here. I'll be calling HR myself to tell them to pull your paperwork out of the system."

"I…you can't…just...wait…" O'Connor was fuming but could think of no reply to what she had just told him. He turned on his heal and headed for the door.

Before he left the room Jane's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Oh and Mister O'Connor, I suggest you look for another line of work. I intend to personally ensure every police department in the state is aware of your shortcomings. You will not be getting another job in law enforcement in this state."

They watched as his hand on the door jamb tightened until his knuckles turned white, then his shoulders slumped and he left without looking back.

"Well, that was…interesting." Maura said blandly.

Jane chuckled, "Indeed, and I'd love to rehash it with you but we have a very important appointment with a judge that we need to get to. Where are the kiddos?"

Just then Kent poked his head around the door. "They're right here with their favorite Uncle Kent, is it safe to bring the wee ones in? No dead bodies or smarmy detectives hanging about?"

Maura quickly covered the body on the autopsy table and motioned for him to come in.

"You heard that I take it." Jane said.

"I did," Kent replied. "I was about to intervene when you showed up. You were brilliant by the way. Really cut him off at the knees. Even with his "Uncle Sean" smoothing thing over I'm amazed he made it as far as he did."

"Believe me that's something I'll be asking Cavanaugh about the next time I see him but right now we all have somewhere to be." She went and took Bryleigh from his arms. "You ready to go Bud," she asked Bobby, teaching for his hand.

"Weady!" Bobby replied enthusiastically, even though he didn't really understand what was about to happen.

"I'll get the stroller and meet you three at the elevator," Maura said, heading into her office.

* * *

They arrived at the the Edward W Brooke Courthouse fifteen minutes early for their appointment with the judge. Angela and Ron were already there waiting for them, Frank, Nina and baby Barry arrived at the same time they did, having left BPD at the same time, and Tommy and TJ showed up 5 minutes later. The boisterous group got more than one sour look from people who's reasons for being at the family court building were not as happy as their own but the looks were either not noticed or ignored by the group.

When the judge's clerk called them into his chambers, the judge smiled and said, "Hello everyone I'm Judge Anthony Steffens. If I'd known you were bringing the whole neighborhood I would have suggested we use the court room for these proceedings rather than my chambers. It's going to be a bit cramped in here." He grinned at them all. He was a big man, at least six feet tall and 200 pounds, with a fringe of grey hair surrounding his bald head. He would have been intimidating were it not for his kind eyes and ready smile.

Angela, who was more than a bit awed by the whole procedure said nervously, "If there are too many of us, some us can wait outside."

"Nonsense!" said the judge, "I was just making a joke. I love to see a big supportive family when I"m finalizing an adoption. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child. You all clearly have your village."

Angela teared up and nodded in agreement.

"So, let's get to it shall we? Based on what I've read in your caseworker's report. It's been a long road for you all to get here. Let's not delay for another moment. So, where are our prospective parents and children."

"Hello, your honor, I'm Lieutenant Jane Rizzoli and this is my wife Dr. Maura Isles." Jane responded, placing her hand briefly on Maura's shoulder. "And this Bernie," she put her hand on the small of the girl's back and guided her to stand in front of her. "Bobby," she tousled the hair of the boy she was carrying on her hip, "and Bryleigh," she tugged gently on the baby's foot as she lay sleeping in Maura's arms.

"Excellent, you have a beautiful family. I believe I recognize both your names. You're with the Police department are you not Lieutenant? Homicide I believe and Doctor Isles, you're the Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth if I remember correctly."

"That's correct, your honor." Maura responded.

"I've read about some of your cases in the Globe. Impressive work ladies, especially that Reynolds case I read about recently, very well done."

"Thank you sir." Jane said.

"Now I bet you'd like me to quit gabbing and get on with it," the Judge said with a grin.

"We have all afternoon your honor. As long as these three are officially ours when we leave here you can take as long as you like," Jane replied grinning back at the judge. She liked this guy. A lot of the judges she knew in criminal court were too full of themselves to have a sense of humor but Judge Steffens was nothing like that.

"Well that's kind of you to say Lieutenant Rizzoli but much as I would like to spend more time with your lovely family my schedule is quite full this afternoon," the judge replied with a smile.

"So, as you both know, today's proceedings are really just a formality. Your application to adopt these three beautiful children has already been approved, we're just here to make it official. Nonetheless, I like to take the time to make sure this is what everyone involved really wants." The judge's tone had become serious. "If anyone on either side has any doubts or misgivings, now is the time to voice them. After today you are officially a family for better or worse, no turning back."

He looked at each of them in turn to drive home the seriousness of what he was saying before continuing, "Let's start with the prospective parents. Does either one of you have any doubts about taking on this most important responsibility? Are you both sure it's what you want?"

Maura looked at Jane who gave her a slight nod. "Your honor, I speak for both of us when I say, this is most definitely what we both want. I know it's only been a few short months that the children have been with us but neither one of us can imagine our lives without them anymore. To lose them now would be nothing short of devastating." Maura had tears in her eyes as she said this but her voice was strong and unwavering. Beside her Jane was nodding, tears showing in her eyes as well.

"Excellent," said Judge Steffens. Turning to Bernie he said, "Young lady, since your brother and sister are still too young to truly understand what is happening here today I'm going to let you speak for all three of you but first, would you like me to ask everyone else to leave. If you are uncomfortable speaking in front of all these people I can ask them to step outside."

"No, your honor." Bernie shook her head, "I want them to hear what I have to say."

"Very well, my dear, what would you like to tell me, and them?" The judge asked.

Bernie kept her eyes on the judge as she spoke, it was easier to keep her emotions in check that way, but her words were as much for Jane and Maura as they were for him. "Losing our parents was the worse thing ever to happen to us, and we've had some petty terrible things happen to us. But something good came of it."

Bernie glanced briefly at Jane and Maura then turned her attention back to the judge. "The three of us got a new family, not just new parents but grandparents," she glanced at Angela and Ron, "and an aunt and uncles and cousins," now she looked at Frank, Nina, and Barry and at Tommy and TJ. Before it was just us and our parents and I always wished for a bigger extended family and now we've got one and it's better than I ever could have imagined." She had tears streaming down her face but she was smiling.

"I'd give anything to have Mommy and Daddy back. They were great parents but part of me would be sad if that happened because we wouldn't get to be part of this family and the three of us all really love being part of this family." This last part she said looking at Maura and Jane and there wasn't a dry eye in the room.

Even Judge Steffens had to pull out his handkerchief and dry his eyes. "Well then," he said, clearing his throat. "Let's make it official. I've got the paperwork here in the computer ready to be signed, I just need to know what the children's legal name will be?"

Jane and Maura both turned to Bernie. They had agreed that the choice should be her's and had assured her that they would be happy with whatever she chose. She had not yet told them her choice, mainly because she had not made the decision until just a moment ago. "I've thought about it a lot," she began. "I've been trying to figure out what Mommy and Daddy would have wanted. I mean Bobby and Bryleigh won't even remember them and they should be reminded that we all had a Mommy and Daddy before we had a Ma and Mom,"

She glanced at Jane and Maura to see their reaction to this. She had never called them anything but Jane and Maura. Both women were openly crying and both reached out to place a hand on her shoulders. "But I also want our name to show people that we're part of this new family," Bernie continued, smiling at everyone in the room. "The problem is, we can't use all three names. I mean Kinney-Rizzoli-Isles or Rizzoli-Isles-Kinney is kind of ridiculously long. So I was wondering, could all of us have Kinney as our middle name and Rizzoli-Isles as our last name? Is that possible?"

For a moment there was stunned silence in the room. It was a great idea that hadn't occurred to any of them.

Judge Steffens broke the silence, "You can certainly do that if you want. What about your current middle names? You won't miss them?"

Bernie shook her head. "All our middle names are family names but they're from people we never met so I won't miss mine and I don't think Bobby and Bryleigh even know their's so they won't miss theirs either."

"Then it's settled," the judge turned to his clerk. "Troy, if you'll add the names to the certificate of adoption and print out copies for everyone who needs them."

Troy quickly added the names and printed out the documents handing the copies to the judge. "Ladies, if you'll both come here and sign each copy on the last page."

Jane put Bobby down and put his hand into Bernie's while Maura handed Bryleigh off to Angela. They both went over to the judge's desk and signed the papers where he indicated. The judge took them back and signed them as well. Then he handed them to his clerk who applied the judge's official stamp to each copy, handing one copy to Maura and keeping the rest to be filed at the courthouse and DCF.

Standing up and coming around his desk the judge spread his arms and said, "Congratulations! You are now officially the Rizzoli-Isles family. I wish you nothing but the best in the future." There were shouts of congratulations and much hugging, laughing and crying at his announcement as the judge proceeded to shake the hands of everyone in the room, except for Angela who insisted on giving the man a bone crushing hug, causing him to make a surprised "oof" sound before he hugged her back.

* * *

By the time they arrived at the Dirty Robber the party was already in full swing. They walked through the door, Jane waving the official adoption certificate, "It's done! We're official now!" She shouted over the din.

A cheer went up and folks started coming up to congratulate them and give them hugs. Maura quickly took the papers from Jane and put them in her purse, which she gave to Korsak to put in a safe place until the party was over.

Maura turned from Korsak when she heard Jane and the kids raising a ruckus by the door and was shocked to see Constance and Arthur coming in. She hurried over, tears forming in her eyes. She had informed her parents that the adoption would become official today but hadn't expected them to take time out of their busy schedules to attend.

"You came!" she exclaimed shock and joy mixing in her voice.

"Of course we came!" Constance replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "We're gaining three grandchildren today. I wanted to see them again and your father wanted to meet them."

"I certainly did," Arthur added. "I've been hearing all sorts of wonderful things about them since Constance returned from her last visit."

"We wanted to meet you at the courthouse but our flight into Logan was delayed." Constance explained after Maura came over and hugged them both.

Maura introduced Arthur to Bernie who charmed him by asking about his current work with indigenous people in Australia and then to Bobby who showed him the toy truck he was playing with. Arthur declared it a fine truck and wondered if he might borrow it in the future, which brought on a fit of giggles from the little boy.

Then they turned to Jane who was holding Bryleigh. The baby was getting a bit fussy what with all the noise and so many people wanting to kiss or hold her. Maura was shocked when her father reached out his arms toward Jane and said, "May I?"

She was even more shocked when Jane placed the baby in his arms and she calmed almost immediately.

"Hello, pretty girl. What are you fussing about?" Arthur cooed at Bryleigh.

"You've still got the touch darling," Constance said coming up beside him, smiling down at her granddaughter and running her forefinger down the baby's cheek. Bryleigh was now burbling happily at her grandfather. "You always were better at calming Maura when she was fussy as a baby. Not that it happened all that often." Constance looked up and smiled at her daughter.

Maura was staring at both her parents in open mouthed shock. _Who were these people and what had they done with her parents?_

Jane, grinning broadly at her wife's reaction to seeing her parents fawning over their baby girl, excused herself. She had seen Riley Cooper talking to Frank and Nina and she had something she wanted to discuss with all three of them.

As she approached the group she realized they were having an animated conversation while Riley rocked Barry, who was sound asleep, in her arms. Jane was heartened to see this. What she was planning to propose to the three of them would work much better if they all got along together. Perhaps, the operation that brought John Grey to justice had allowed these three to put the past behind them.

"So, what are you three discussing so enthusiastically?" Jane asked when she had joined the group.

"Riley here was just telling us she's engaged...and she's looking for a new job?" Nina replied.

"Congratulations! Whose the lucky guy?" Jane asked pleased by both pieces of news.

"Jerry James." Riley replied with a wide smile.

"That's great, Jerry's a good guy," Jane replied sincerely. "Wait, isn't Jerry the new sergeant in Narcotics?"

"And that's why I'm looking for a new job." Riley replied ruefully. "It's one thing to work in the same Division with your spouse like Frank and Nina here but it's another thing entirely for your spouse to be in your direct chain of command."

"True," Jane agreed. "Technically it's not forbidden but it'd be the kiss of death for your career. Any positive reviews or promotions you might receive would be tainted be cries of favoritism, whether it was true or not."

"Exactly!" Riley replied with a sigh. She'd worked hard to get a reputation as a skilled detective, with a solid work ethic. It was disheartening to think that reputation could be undermined because of who she'd fallen in love with.

"Actually, this might be a good thing" Jane said grinning at three of them. They all looked at her like she'd sprouted antennae on top of her head.

"Excuse me!" Rile's response was more than a little indignant.

"Hear me out." Jane said, still grinning. "Frank and Nina, as you know, the new detective Lieutenant Cavanaugh hired showed up today. Well it turns out he's not going to work out."

"Thank God!" Frank interrupted. "Sergeant Morgan asked me to show him around and after I introduced him to everyone in BRIC he asked if I thought Nina was into and I quote 'well hung white dudes'. When I said, 'I guess so. She's married to a white man' the jerk said, 'Even better, no whining about a commitment'. When I explained that I was the one she was married to he informed me he needed to go meet the medical examiner and hightailed it out of there."

"What a sleaze!" Riley said, shaking her head.

"Hey, could have been worse. When I found him in the morgue he was hitting on Maura and when he found out she was married to me he suggested a threesome. Of course that was before he found out I was his new lieutenant."

"Wait, he was hitting on Maura and then he suggested a threesome and you _**didn't**_ shoot him?" Nina asked, shocked.

"It was a close thing believe me." Jane assured her. "As his lieutenant, I decided to fire him on the spot instead. I may have also suggested he look for another line of work since I intend to make sure no police department in the state will hire him."

They all burst out laughing at this.

"Anyway, I have a vacancy in Homicide and you, Riley, are at the top of my list to fill it." Jane continued.

"I accept!" Riley replied enthusiastically.

"Hang on a second, O'Connor was going to be Frank's new partner. Are all of you good with that, given what happened between you and Frank and Frost the first time we met?"

Riley said she was fine with it but looked to Frank and Nina to see if they agreed.

"That was a long time ago and I have a little better understanding of what it's like to be undercover so I'm willing to let bygones be bygones." Frank said.

They all looked to Nina. "A lot has changed since then, Frank and I are married and Riley is engaged. I don't have a problem with it. In fact, it will give me peace of mind knowing a badass cop like Riley is watching my husband's back."

Frank leaned in and kissed her temple, giving her a one armed hug.

"It's settled then. Riley, why don't we go to HR together next week. You can request a transfer and I'll request you be reassigned to Homicide." Jane said, satisfied with the outcome.

"Thanks, Lieutenant, I really look forward to working in Homicide and even more so working for you." Riley replied sincerely.

"Your entirely welcome, Detective Cooper. Now I best go find my family before Maura puts me in the doghouse for talking shop at our party." Jane left in search of her family, leaving the three of them to discuss the bombshell she had just dropped on them.

* * *

Hours later, after the party had ended and they were home, the kids all tucked into their beds, Jane and Maura were sitting on the couch in the living room sharing a bottle of red wine and a comfortable silence.

Jane shifted sideways on the couch, facing Maura. She reached out and gently brushed a strand of honey blond hair off of her wife's face, tucking it behind her ear. "Thank you," she said, her voice husky with emotion.

"What for?" Maura asked, unsure what her wife might be thanking her for.

"For all of this," Jane replied waving her hand to indicate everything around her. "For being my wife and giving me this wonderful family."

"Jane," Maura said, cupping Jane's cheek with her hand. "This is as much your doing as it is mine. More so even. After all, you're the one who was brave enough to make the first move on our trip to France."

"I guess but, before I met you I never dreamed I would have a family. It's not that I didn't want one. I just couldn't see myself having that with any of the guys I dated. Not Joey Grant, or Gabriel Dean. Casey came close but when I found out I was pregnant with his child I just knew I couldn't do it with him. Every time I tried to imagine my future as his wife and the mother of his children I couldn't see it. You know what I did see?"

Maura just shook her head, afraid that if she spoke out loud it would break whatever spell was making her normally stoic wife suddenly so willing to share her thoughts and feelings.

Jane took her hand and squeezed it. "You, Maura, I saw you. Waking up with me for 3 AM feedings, changing diapers, seeing him or her off on their first day of school, teaching our child to fence, patching up skinned knees and broken hearts. I saw you there beside me for all of it."

Maura, sniffled a little. "You never said anything."

"I was shocked at first, and scared." Jane replied. "I didn't know if you felt the same way. Then I lost the baby and it seemed like it didn't matter anymore."

"It was the same for me you know?" Maura said after reflecting for a moment on what Jane had said. "None of the men I dated made me want to get married and start a family with them. With Garrett, I was so just young when he and I were together. When he asked me to marry him I think I was afraid, with my social awkwardness, that he might be my only chance. Fortunately I came to my senses before I actually married him. And Ian, well Ian was never going to give up his work Doctors Without Borders to raise a family with me. Even if he had, it never would have worked. Looking back on it now I realize I was more in love with the romantic notion of a life with him. I guess there's some truth to what they say about wanting what you can't have. Deep down I knew I could never have Ian that way." She shook her head at her own folly.

"Then I met you and we became friends. I began to see what a true partnership looked like and somewhere along the way I fell in love with you. I think I was almost as heartbroken as you were when you lost the baby. I wanted to raise that child with you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life, even though I still wasn't sure if you felt the same way about me as I did about you. I suspected you did but I wasn't sure and I was too scared of losing you to say anything."

Jane shook her head a rueful expression on her face. "What a pair we were, both hopelessly in love and both to scared to do anything about it," she said.

"But we've made it, finally." Maura said, giving Jane a watery smile. "We're married, and we have a family. It may not be exactly like we originally thought it would be but I think it's perfect for us."

Jane leaned in and left a lingering kiss on her wife's lips. "I think you're right," she said. "I know you're not a big believer in fate or destiny but I think everything that happened between us happened exactly the way it was supposed to, exactly when it was supposed to so we could be ready for these children when they needed us. I think they were meant to be our kids and we were meant to be their parents as surely as if we shared their DNA."

Maura nodded, "I think you may be right. Even though I don't generally subscribe to the concept of a higher power, I can't help but feel like we were destined to be Bernie, Bobby and Bryleigh's parents."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence again, each contemplating what the other had said until the baby monitor sitting on the coffee table in front of them emitted a tremulous wail.

"And So It begins," Jane said grinning at her wife as she rose from the couch to check on their youngest child.

Maura chuckled and rose as well. "I'll go with you," she said taking Jane's hand and following her out of the living room and up the stairs to their future.


End file.
